A Champion's Return
by DarkLucario98
Summary: Just when Ash finally wins a league and gets the girl, Team Rocket steps in and ruins everything. Ash is kidnapped, and forced to work for them. Can Ash escape in time to reunite with his new girlfriend and compete in the inter regional championships? And how does Red fit into play? AshxMay/aura Ash. Rated M for dark themes and violence later on. First fanfic :)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone, DarkLucario98 here. I'm just gonna say that this is my first fanfic, so let me know what you think!**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own Pokemon, nor am I making any money off of this story. This goes for the whole story so I don't have to write it every chapter.**

* * *

 **A Champion's Return**

Chapter One

"AND BRONZONG IS DOWN!"

"With an impressive iron tail, Pikachu knocks Jackson's final Pokemon out, making Ash Ketchum this year's Valley of the Lilly Conference champion!"

As the moment sunk in, Ash slowly fell to his knees, astounded. 'We won.' Ash realized. This time, he yelled it out loud. "We WON!" With that, Ash ran out onto the field, Pikachu jumping into his arms. Ash spun Pikachu around in his arms with a huge smile yelling, "Great job Pikachu! Oh, you were just so great, that iron tail was amazing, and you won the battle for us, you won it! I love you so much buddy!"

"Pika pika" the mouse Pokemon muttered, embarrassed by his trainer's praise.

"No really buddy, you did great, I couldn't be more proud of you, or any of you who battled with me today." Ash grinned. "You all did fantastic, I'm gonna have Brock whip us up a huge feast tonight!"

Pikachu grinned at that and sent Ash a small electric shock. Pikachu thought that Ash was being a little too excited, seeing as how Ash was currently crushing him with his "hug", and Pikachu was already tired and sore from the battle.

"Owww, fine, I'll calm down" Ash grumbled after the shock. He really hadn't been expecting that.

"Pi _ka."_ Pikachu said with a nod.

Ash gave him a mischievous smile and was about to say that he'd finish his excited praising later, but he noticed Jackson walking over to him.

"Wow Ash, that was a great battle" Jackson complemented with a small, slightly sad smile. "That was honestly one of the best battle I've ever had."

He reached out to shake Ash's hand.

"Gee, thanks, Jackson," Ash said after shaking the hand of his opponent. "Same to you. I've never been pushed that hard in a battle before, all of your Pokemon are really strong!"

"W-well," Jackson stuttered with a small blush, "I wasn't strong enough to beat you and win, but hey, there's always next year."

"That's the spirit!" Ash encouraged while walking away, "I hope I get a chance to battle you again some day!"

Ash strode off the field and down the corridor to the trainer's room. Along the way, he was unable to contain his excitement. He was elated. He knew his friends were waiting for him in the trainer's room to congratulate him, and that made him even more excited. Ash loved his friends. While he walked, he couldn't help but to give off a few excited giggles. After all, he _had_ just won the Sinnoh League, _and_ he'd beaten Paul in the earlier rounds. That by itself was enough to get him pumped.

Ash stopped outside the door and asked Pikachu as he jumped off his shoulder and onto his head "You ready buddy?"

"Pi!" Pikachu replied energetically, already drooling over all the ketchup he knew Ash's friends would have waiting for him as a present.

Ash took a deep breath, and he threw the door open. Hard.

He had time to register three things.

First, he hit someone with the door. Second, he saw a flash of brown, red, and blue, and third, he was now on his back.

"Ouch," Ash grunted in pain, "was that really necessary?"

"I could say the same to you Ash," Brock muttered darkly while rubbing his head that now has a big lump on it, "you just hit me with the door."

"Of course it was Ash!" May bubbled, oblivious to Brock's pain. Upon seeing his nervousness, decided to tease him."Do you really think we wouldn't be happy for you, I can't believe that you'd think we're crummy friends. What's wrong with you!" she cried with tears rolling down her face.

Ash sweatdropped, and immediately apologized for hurting her feelings. "Whoa, whoa, I'm really sorry May, I didn't mean to make you cry, I was just surprised, I didn't know that you were even here, much less that you would me, I was just really excited, I'm really sorr- mmpff!"

"Holy mew Ash," Misty put her hand over his mouth, laughing at how he turned red once he realized he was rambling. "I know you were never good with girls, but this is ridiculous!"

"What do you mean?" asked an incredulous Ash. "She's crying and I was just trying to comfort her! I don't see what's wrong with that!"

Misty just sighed, before pulling out her mallet and smashing Ash over the head with it.

"What's wrong with _you_ Ash! Can't you tell she was just messing with you! I swear, sometimes I wonder how you got to be a great Pokemon trainer when you're this stupid"

Everyone sweatdropped at the scene, Misty yelling at Ash while she May, and Dawn were all on top of him.

"Misty." Ash said, desperately trying to get her to stop yelling at him. She didn't hear him and continued, so he had to try again louder. "Misty!" Ash was beginning to get really worried now. Would she ever stop? An over dramatization maybe, but hey, you never know with Misty. "MISTY!" Ash yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice causing everyone in the room to clamp their hands over their ears in pain.

Misty looked down at Ash confusedly "...What?"

Everyone fell down anime style.

"Ugh, never mind, would you three please get off of me. I really feel like breathing." asked a boy in serious jeopardy of getting a few ribs cracked.

As the girls got off of him Ash got a better view at everyone around him. A lot of his friends were here. (A/N- bear with me, clothes ain't my thing) Brock was dressed in a pair of brown pants, and a green shirt with an orange vest with brown shoulders over it. Brock had almost always been there for Ash, accompanying him on all of his journeys except the Orange Islands. Standing next to him was Gary, Ash's childhood best friend/rival. Ash had some trouble with him after starting out his Pokemon adventure, but after the Silver Conference, Gary realized how poorly he had treated Ash. He apologized to Ash, who was more than willing to welcome back his best friend, and now Gary is practically his brother. Gary was dressed simply in a black collared shirt and blue jeans. Up next was Tracy. Tracy looked no different, still sporting his green tee shirt and red shorts. Delia was standing next to Professor Oak, beaming with pride for her beloved son. Of course, she was always proud of him, but now, the only reason she didn't get to wrap him in a monstrous hug, was the three girls got to him first. Not that she minded. She knows that Ash's friends are family to him. Delia and Oak were both dressed in their typical attire, a pink shirt and blue knee length skirt for Delia and a red button up with tan pants and a lab coat for Professor Oak. Finally, were the three girls. Misty was dressed in well, nobody really knows. It looks like a yellow swimsuit, but the top is somehow also a vest. Weird. Anyway, Dawn, ever the fashionable one, was wearing a pink skirt with a black, sleeveless top and her beanie with a pink half poke ball on the front. Lastly was May. She was stunning. Her hair was down in the V shaped double ponytails, with her green bandanna that Ash gave her on top. Her clothing consisted of an orange sleeveless that went into a skirt with a pair of black biker shorts. The sight of her took Ash's breath away and gave him a small blush.

May noticed this, and asked the poor, embarrassed boy with a wink, "Like what you see Ash?".

Ash blushed even harder, mumbling incoherent sentences "W-well, y-you see, I just wasn't..."

May smiled and consoled him, saying, "Don't worry Ash, I was just teasing you. By the way, did you notice I'm wearing the bandanna you gave me for my birthday?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm glad that you like it May!" Ash exclaimed, pulling May in for a hug.

This time, it was May's turn to blush, as she wrapped her arms around Ash. She was shocked that Ash would hug anyone, much less her.

"Come on Ashy-boy. Get a room!" Gary taunted, smirking at Ash.

Ash and May quickly detached themselves after that, staring at the ground with an intense blush.

"Whatever Gary." Ash mumbled.

Unfortunately for Ash, his embarrassment wasn't over yet.

"Oh, look at that!" Delia squealed, wrapping Ash in a bone rushing hug. "My little baby has a girlfriend! I'm so proud of you honey!"

"Mom!" Ash groaned "She's not my girlfriend yet!"

"Yet?" Delia asked innocently "You mean you want her to be?"

"Um, Mom!" Ash yelled, glancing at May. She shyly met his eye, then looked away, abashed.

"Oh Ashy, I'm just teasing you. If you want May to be your girlfriend, that's fine with me." Delia told him.

"I think you two make the cutest couple!" Dawn beamed. "It's so romantic!"

"Easy for you to say Dawn," Ash told the blunette, "you're already together with Gary."

"Yeah," Gary said with a smirk, pulling Dawn next to him with his arm around her hip. "Real easy. It took me three months to get her to go out with me."

"That's because you used to be a jerk. _But,_ you changed, so I decided to give you a chance." Dawn retorted, knocking his ego down a notch.

"Wait a minute!" Tracy exclaimed, "Does anyone else hear that?"

Everyone looked around confused, until they saw Brock crying in the corner, tears flowing down his face.

"It's not fair!" Brock sobbed, "Even Ash got a girlfriend before me! Why is the world so cruel!"

Everyone laughed at Brock's misfortune with women. Even though it was nothing new, as they'd seen it at almost every town, city, village, or anywhere else with pretty girls, it would never get old.

"Ash my boy," Professor Oak said while wiping the tears from laughing at Brock out of his eyes, "what do you plan on doing now?"

"You know," Ash started, "I don't really know. I think I'll go back to Pallet Town and train for awhile after the awards ceremony tomorrow."

"I think that's a great idea honey! It will be nice having you around for more than a few days at a time." Delia glared at her son.

"Sorry mom," Ash apologized while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "I just get really busy, you know?"

Ash felt a slight tug on his sleeve. He turned around and saw May uncomfortably shuffling her feet. "Ash, do you mind, that is, if it's okay with you, if I, uh, join you?" May asked embarrassed to be asking her crush if she could spend more over a week with him, and his mother.

That's right, May Maple has a crush on, maybe even loves Ash Ketchum, one of the densest people on the planet. May had been trying for awhile to get him to return her feelings, but with no such luck. She had hoped that constantly wearing his bandanna, even mentioning it a lot, hoping that it would show him that she's his. But of course, he only saw it as a sign of their friendship. But hopefully, that would change after this evening.

"Of course you can May!" Ash beamed his smile that drove May crazy, "I would love it if you joined me!"

"I'm sure you would Ashy-boy. Make sure to use protection!" Gary snickered at him. Ash shot him a dark look as Dawn elbowed him in the ribs. Hard. Gary fell to ground holding his injured ribs spluttering "I have no regrets!" while Misty started raining kicks to his stomach.

"Ash, I think it's time you went to bed." May speculated while eyeing Ash. "You look exhausted."

It was true. Ash had yawned a few times, and he was slouching over, with slight bags under his eyes.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your room sleepyhead." May told him softly.

"Yeah," Ash yawned "I think that's a great idea. I'll see you all tomorrow."

* * *

Ash and May were walking down the hallway to Ash's room. May was desperately thinking of a way to show Ash that she loved him. 'Yes,' she decided with a blush, 'I think I love him.' She loved everything about him, from his handsome tanned face and messy black hair to his upbeat energetic personality and love for his friends and Pokemon. 'Speaking of Pokemon' May slipped Pikachu another ketchup packet. "Pikachu!" Pikachu slurped down the ketchup in no time flat, earning a giggle from May at his irrational love of the red "treat".

Ash soon brought May out of her thoughts. "Here we are. Thanks for keeping me company."

Ash opened his door and started walking into his room.

He stopped when May grabbed his arm and pulled him back outside. "W-wait, Ash!"

Ash gave her a quizzical look. "What is it May? I'm tired."

"Well, I just wanted to know what you meant when you said that I wasn't your girlfriend _yet_."

Ash's face turned beet red as he responded. "W-well, you know I meant that I, uh, loveyouandwantyoutobemygirlfiend."

To say May was surprised would be an understatement. She had been trying to get Ash to notice her for months, and he really just did her job for her? Well, she had a pretty good Idea what Ash said, but she needed to make sure. "W-what did you say?"

"Oh, uh, haha, uh, it was nothing!" Ash frantically responded. "Really, it was nothing!"

"No, it wasn't, you said that you love me, didn't you?" May's face was practically on fire now. She desperately hoped he would say yes. She didn't know how much longer she could take his density to her feelings.

"Um, yeah I did. You know, if you want to" Ash confirmed in a voice so quiet, May almost missed it again.

"Oh Ash," May sighed "I wish you'd told me sooner. I feel the same way."

"Really?" Now Ash was surprised. He had actually loved May since he helped her after Manaphy had to leave her after the temple of the Sea adventure, but only realized it after a lengthy talk with Brock after he learned that May wouldn't be joining them for the Sinnoh League.

"Yes Ash, you dummy. Why do you think I always try to get some alone time with you, or why I always wear this bandanna, and not the one my parents gave me when I started my journey, the red one."

"I just thought that you really liked it."

"Of course I did. I love it because you gave it to me, and that makes it special."

"Whoa," Ash stuttered, he could have sworn his heart was about to burst through his rib cage. "I didn't know you felt that way about me."

"I do. Now let me prove it to you." May purred.

"What do you m-"

May cut him off as she softly pressed her lips against hers. Ash's eyes widened at the impact. He had never kissed a girl before. Beside his mom. And that was just on the cheek. So, with no experience to fall back on, Ash decided to just act on instinct. He started to slowly kiss her back, while wrapping his arms around her waist. After a few minutes, they stopped the kiss in a hug breathing heavily, still feeling each others lips on their own.

"I love you Ash."

"I love you too May."

"You know Ash," May told him with a sparkle in her eye, "now that you've kissed me, you have to be my boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend!" Ash stared at her, slack jawed.

"Of course! What do you think, that I would let you kiss me without reason?"

"Well no, but... I guess I kind of like that too."

"Oh Ash." May sighed as she pulled him into a hug.

With that, Ash pulled away from the hug and opened his door. He turned around and uttered a small goodnight and an extra I love you before shutting the door.

"I love you too Ash. Goodnight." May smiled, skipping down the hall to her own room, ecstatic. She just kissed her love, and found out that he loved her back.

When she got to her room, she went in, finding Misty and Dawn to already be asleep.

She snuck into the bathroom and took off her clothes, and put on her pajamas, an over sized t-shirt. She then brushed her teeth while humming merrily. After that, she stealthily crept across the room and got into her bed. When she got comfortable she practically melted into the bed, drifting into a blissful sleep.

'This has been the best week ever.' May thought happily as the dreams of hers and Ash's future consumed her.

* * *

 **A/N- And that's a wrap. I have no idea how long this story will be, but I'm hoping for it to be at least over 100,00 words.**

 **Here's the team that Ash won in the Sinnoh League finals with:**

 **Staraptor**

 **Torterra**

 **Sceptile**

 **Infernape**

 **Gible**

 **and obviously Pikachu**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- Hello everyone! As I was writing this, I realized that I completely forgot about Max! He** _ **is**_ **there, but let's just say that he was really tired because he's** **younger than everyone else** **, and was simply too tired to bother. Or, you can imagine something up, I really don't care either way. All that matters is that he's there! That being said, please enjoy and don't forget to review!**

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Chapter Two

The sun had risen slowly over the Valley of the Lilly. A young Pokemon master in the making gently stirred in his sleep as the sun gently shone into his room and the starlys chirping in the trees with a beautiful glistening lake with little Pokemon swimming nearby. This scene was so peaceful and scenic that it made whoever was- "CHUUUUUUU!", "AARRGGHH!", _thump_... Never mind.

"Uhhh. Morning to you to Pikachu."

Ash begrudgingly got off the floor, glaring at Pikachu, then went into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead of him. Most importantly, the awards ceremony which started in the evening. With that thought, excitement spread throughout his body, encouraging him to hurry up. So, Ash hurriedly brushed his teeth, put on his clothes, and rushed out of the bathroom.

"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash grabbed Pikachu and ran out of his room, towards the food court for breakfast.

As soon as he got to the food court, he looked around, searching for his friends. Once he found them, he walked over to their table.

"Morning everybody!" Ash almost shouted, his enthusiasm reaching it's peak.

"Morning?" Misty frowned "It's almost noon."

"Eh," Ash said with an accompanying stomach growl, "it's all the same as long as I get breakfast. I'm gonna go get some now."

He started over to the food lines to get his beloved breakfast.

"Don't worry about it Ash!" May waved him over to her "I've already gotten you your food, and saved you a seat next to me."

True to her word, May had plenty of pancakes, french toast, assorted berries, muffins, eggs, and bacon all stacked high on a plate.

"Wow, thanks a bunch May!" Ash beamed, as he walked over and sat down next to her before digging in.

None of his friends thought twice about his "eating", but the display caught the attention of several passers by. On person even walked into a pole while distracted by Ash's incredible display of poor manners and break neck paced eating. But, they did catch onto the fact that May got Ash breakfast. May had never voluntarily gotten anyone food before.

"Wow May," Dawn gave may a sly look "you've never gotten Ash food for him before. Did anything happen when you walked him to his room?"

Ash let loose all the food in his mouth, (which was a lot), having completely forgotten that his friends don't know about his new relationship with May.

"Oh, only just that me and Ash are now together." May calmly told everyone, like it was no big deal.

"WHAT!" was what everyone at the table cried out.

"Ash got a girlfriend!?" Misty shivered "it must be the end of the world or something."

"Haha, very funny Misty." Ash stuck his tongue out at her "We all know I could've gotten a girlfriend any time I wanted."

"Yeah right Ash," Gary shook his head, "I was beginning to think you didn't even know what a girlfriend was. Do you even know what to do with one?"

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, confused as to what Gary meant by, to do with one.

"Oh boy Ash," Gary leaned across the table and patted Ash on the shoulder with a smirk, "You have much to learn. Lucky for you, I'm the best there is to teach about this kind of thing. First, you have to assert your dominance. Just look at me, the head of my relationship. I can basically do whatever I want, and Dawn will do whatever I say. She's whipped! It's a win-win!"

"Oh really?" Dawn gave him a smile that was a little _too_ sweet. "I can only imagine what you mean by that. Misty, if you please?"

"It would be my pleasure Dawn." Once again, Misty pulled out her trusty mallet, and smashed Gary with it two times. Once over the head, and once in a place no man ever wants to be hit. Gary fell to the ground crying about how he'll never have kids.

"Anyway," Dawn told Ash, not caring that her boyfriend was in currently in an immeasurable amount of pain "Forget what my idiotic boyfriend just told you. Since you don't know how to be a good boyfriend, and obviously Gary isn't suited to teach you, I'll do it!"

"Well, no offense Dawn," Ash quickly made up an excuse, not wanting to be trapped into Dawn's "lessons" for hours, "I think it would be best if I just learned as I went along."

"Fine. But don't blame me if May get's mad at you for being your usual dense self." Dawn pouted.

"Seriously though," Max gave Ash a confused look "why would _you_ want to date _my_ sister? She's mean and bossy and just weird, and you're awesome!"

"Maxwell Maple!" May glared at her younger brother "If you don't take that back and shut your ugly face, I will call mom and tell her that you won't behave yourself! Do you really want to go back home?"

"NO! Please, I'm so sorry, I take it back!" Max got down on his knees, head bent over, literally begging. "I'll do anything, just please don't make me go back home! It's so boring!"

"That's a good boy." May patted him on the head holding out her glass "now go get me another refill. This time I want an oran juice."

"Yes ma'am." Max meekly took the glass to get her the oran juice.

"Ash," May directed her attention to the befuddled boy "don't listen to anyone. I want you to stay as you are."  
"Thanks May" Ash leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek, earning him a small blush from May.

"Gross." Max mumbled under his breath, putting the glass down in front of his sister.

"So Ash," Gary groaned as he painstakingly got back into his seat "what are we going to do before the awards ceremony starts?"

"I know what I'm doing!" Brock ran over to the Nurse Joy and dropped onto one knee, grabbing her hand "My love! My love for you cannot even be outweighed by a Groudon! Surely you and I can-" Croagunk let himself out of his poke ball I time to stop Brock from terrorizing another Nurse Joy, jabbing him with a poison jab and dragging him out of the food court.

"Not… again..."

Everyone sweatdropped at the all too familiar scene before resuming their business.

"I don't really know." Ash stated contemplatively while rubbing his chin "Maybe just train my Pokemon, help fix some of the mistakes we made last night."

"Of course." Misty sighed "We should've known that it would have something to do with Pokemon."

Everyone chorused in agreement with her.

"All you ever think about is Pokemon Ash." Tracey told him "How you got May to like you is beyond me."

"I am not having this conversation with you all again," Ash got up, taking his tray with him "Now I'm going to train, and if you want to come with me, we aren't talking about this again."

"I'll come with you Ashy-boy." Gary got up to follow Ash "I want to check out your Pokemon up close."

"Me too!" Brock, May, and Max also got up. Brock also wanted to check out his Pokemon, but from a medical point of view. Max just wanted to see his idol/best friend train, and I think you can guess why may wanted to go.

They all followed Ash as he threw his trash away and left the food court. They walked down the hallway to the main lobby, and out the Pokemon Center.

* * *

"Here we are everyone!" Ash threw his arms into the air. "My secret training spot!"

Ash's secret training spot was in the forest not to far from the Pokemon Center. It was a big clearing in the woods, with a large pond off to the left, and a medium sized cave that jutted up from the ground about twenty feet from the pond. Ash was really proud of his spot. It had taken him hours to find a place suited for the mass destruction his Pokemon could cause, and had an environment suited for his different types Pokemon.

"I'm impressed Ash," Gary gave the place a look over "I wouldn't have thought that you would be patient enough to find a place as good as this. It's perfect."

Ash barely managed to ignored Gary's jab at his patience, yelling "Come on out everyone!"

Ash threw out his Pokemon, ready to get in a good training session before he had to leave. Five Pokemon materialized from their poke balls, with loud roars. It seems they were as pumped to get started as their trainer.

Ash began to get his Pokemon started with their training, "Pikachu, you go and blast as many boulders as you can with your thunderbolt. Let's see if you can break your record. Torterra and Sceptile, use your leaf storm and bullet seed to try and hit Staraptor. Staraptor, try to fly as fast as you can, while moving in a random pattern. If you get hit, you have to hit both of them with an aerial ace. Gible, you go swimming the pond to boost your resistance to water attacks. Jackson's Vaporeon really did you a number last night. We can't let something like that happen again."

"It's nice to see you taking your training seriously Ash. With the way you used to train, I'm not surprised that you lost in the second round in the Silver Conference." Max stated pushing his glasses higher up on his nose while they shone.

"I've told you before, it was the second round in the victory tournament!" Ash yelled, face to face with Max.

"This again?" May groaned.

"Come on you two." Brock pulled two the apart "Max don't go there again, and Ash, try not to get so mad. Alright?"

"Okay, sorry Brock." Ash and Max apologized together, rubbing the backs of their heads in embarrassment.

"Good." Brock nodded, walking over to where Ash's Pokemon were training "I'm going to watch your Pokemon train and take notes on their shape."

"Okay." Ash turned to Gary "Want to have a one on one battle? Just like old times."

"Ooh," Max was practically drooling with anticipation "I would love to see you two battle!"

"Sure." Gary smirked "It's always nice to put you in your place after you get a big win. It brings you back down to earth."

Ash and Gary walked over to opposite side of the clearing. Ash had one Pokemon left, so he gave Gary a minute to choose his Pokemon. Once he chose, Gary gave Ash a thumbs up, gave the poke ball a kiss and threw it over the field. "Go Arcanine!"

Ash threw his own poke ball "Infernape, you got this!"

The Pokemon were released onto the field, giving each other a death glare.

"Go Ash!" May cheered from the sidelines.

"Infernape, start off with dig, then use earthquake from underground!"

Infernape dug down into the ground, spraying dirt everywhere. Infernape screamed his name, and after a second, the entire field started to shake with tremendous force. The attack hit Arcanine, throwing him back onto the ground.

"Arcanine!" Gary yelled "Come on, I know you can get up!"

Arcanine jumped up. The earthquake obviously did a good deal of damage, but not enough to take the legendary Pokemon down.

"Good job!" Gary threw his arm towards Infernape "Use extreme speed into an iron tail!"

Arcanine gave a howl before he took off, almost moving faster than Infernape could keep up with.

"Infernape dodge it!"

As Arcanine flew in front of him, Infernape rolled to the side, barely avoiding getting hit.

"Arcanine, quick turn then use thunder fang!"

Arcanine, digging his paws hard into the ground, was able to turn around, hitting Infernape with thunder fang before he could react.

"Infernape!" May gasped, worried for the flame Pokemon.

"Got you Gary!" Ash told Gary with a wink "Infernape use counter!"

Gary's eyes widened "Arcanine let go of him now!"

Arcanine couldn't let go of Infernape quickly, and Infernape was covered in a red glow, sending Arcanine reeling back with massive damage. Arcanine managed to get up once again, tired, but he could still keep going.

"Arcanine, we need to play this safe! Wait for Infernape to attack then use protect!"

Arcanine got into a ready stance, watching his opponent carefully.

"Infernape, use flamethrower!"

Infernape threw his head back for releasing red hot flames in a spiral, directed at Arcanine. Before the flames could reach him, Arcanine created a green protective bubble that shielded him from the attack.

"Great job Infernape, now use feint!"

Infernape's fist started to glow as he charged up to Arcanine before protect wore off, and smashed his his attack into Arcanine, the feint allowing him to pass through as if the protect wasn't even there. Arcanine went down, swirls in his eyes.

"Arcanine no!" Gary ran over to his Pokemon kneeling down next to it. "You did great pal. You deserve a long rest."

Gary pulled out Arcanine's poke ball and recalled him. Getting up, Gary walked over to Ash and shook his hand. "Good battle Ash. Excellent technique."

"You too Gary. I hope for a rematch soon." Ash calmly replied.

The two rivals stared at each other for a second before bursting out with laughter.

After Gary calmed down a bit, he looked at Ash again and said, "I almost had you ya know."

"Did not!" Ash retorted "I was in complete control the whole battle."

"Okay Ashy-boy." Gary smirked "I was just messing with you."

"That was incredible Ash!" May and Max ran up to the two

"The way you went under the field to amplify earthquakes power was awesome!" Max beamed "No wonder you beat Gary in the Silver Conference."

Gary fell down anime style "Thanks for reminding me."

"Okay!" Ash sad, trying to save Gary from further embarrassment "Why don't we just train for a few hours until the awards ceremony?"

"Good idea Ash!" May pecked Ash on the cheek "Do you have any other good strategies you want to tell your girlfriend?"

"Sorry May," Ash waved his finger at her "but a good trainer never reveals his secrets!"

"Not even for me?" May gave him her best puppy dog face.

"Not even you." Ash crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Fine." May pouted.

"Now then," Ash pumped his arm "Let's get started!"

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set, and Ash and his friends were all tired, so they went back to the Pokemon Center to clean up for the award ceremony. Once ready, they found the rest of Ash's friends and family and started towards the main arena, where the ceremony was going to be held. Once they got there, they found their seats, and waited for Ash to be called down to the field.

Finally, Ash's big moment came, and the announcers voice blared through the loudspeakers "Would Ash Ketchum please report to the field!"

"Well," As stood up "that's my cue guys."

Waving goodbye to all his friends, Ash made his way down to the corridor that would take him to his crowning glory.

"You ready buddy?" Ash scratched Pikachu on the top of his head.

"Pika, Pikapi!" Pikachu cooed.

"Then let's go." Ash walked down the corridor, walking out onto the field. The crowd thundered. People clapping and screaming and cheering. 'All for me' Ash thought.

There was a big platform on the middle of the field, with Mr. Goodshow, the owner of the Pokemon League, and Cynthia, the Sinnoh champion. In between them was a small table with a golden trophy, with wings near the top, and a poke ball placed directly on top. Ash walked over, and onto the podium, stopping in front of the table, in between two of the largest faces of the Pokemon League.

"Ash Ketchum," Mr. Goodshow boomed "I have been watching your progress since you placed in the top sixteen in your first Pokemon League. Since then, I have watched you become a great trainer, earning higher and higher placings. And now, you've done it. You, are the champion of the Lily of the Valley Conference!"

The crowd roared even louder for their favorite trainer, but they soon quieted as Cynthia began talking.

"Ash, your battles were excellent. Truly, an outstanding performance. You gave the support your Pokemon need to maximize their power. And you guided them with certainty to secure victory. You have both passion and calculating coolness. Together, you and your Pokemon can overcome any challenge that may come your way. Those are the impressions I got from your battling. I'm glad that I get to take part in the crowning of the Valley of the Lily's new champion!"

The applause that followed was almost deafening, and it only got louder as Cynthia picked up the trophy, and stepped next to Ash. "You deserve this Ash" Cynthia handed him the trophy. Ash grinned as he took the trophy and held it up into the air.

"BOOOM"

An explosion went off on the field, near the podium, causing thick, black smoke to fill the stadium. Everyone ran to the nearest emergency exit as fast as they could. It took about fifteen minutes for all the people to get out, and once they did, it didn't take long for everyone to catch word of something big.

Ash Ketchum was missing.

* * *

It was estimated that around forty three people were killed, with another one hundred and thirty-two injured in the explosion. The only person missing, was Ash Ketchum. There were reports of Team Rocket being spotted in the stadium after the explosion, leading everyone to believe that Ash was being held as a hostage for ransom. After a week, no ransom had been sent to the league, so they sent G-men, rangers, police forces, anyone they could get, to search for the missing champion. After a month of no success, people started to worry. After two, some people started speculating that he was dead. Three months after the attack, Ash Ketchum was officially proclaimed dead by the League. The news hit everyone hard, as most of the world had seen Ash in some tournament or another, but it hit Ash's friends and family the hardest. They all fell into a deep depression. There was a funeral, and hundreds attended. Even Mr. Goodshow and the three champions attended. It took a long time, but most of Ash's friends managed to pull themselves out of their sadness, because it's what Ash would've wanted.

Only two people were unable to; Ash's mother, Delia, and Ash's girlfriend, May. Ash was basically all that Delia had left, and Ash meant everything to May. After a few more months, they both were still dangerously depressed.

Delia declined even further, and she lost the will to live. She died peacefully in her bed a few weeks after Ash was pronounced dead. This pushed May even further into her depression, as she, and all of Ash's friends, thought of her as their second mother. Her funeral was smaller than Ash's, though Mr. Goodshow and the three champions still attended out of respect for the lost Ketchum bloodline.

All of Ash's friends began to worry about May, and this worry intensified after she tried to take her own life. She would've died if Max hadn't have walked into her room and found her passed out on the floor with various medications strewn about her room. She was rushed to a hospital, where she made a lengthy physical recovery. After that incident, May was not allowed to be alone any more. May's parents and brother were the ones most often with her, and her friends stopped by to visit often.

It took three years, but May's friends and family managed to a functioning state, yet though she recovered, they knew that she as different.

She was plagued by nightmares, and constantly lost sleep, and she broke down at the mention of Ash's name. She never did much of anything and was irritable all the time. She had always loved to eat, but she barely ate. They all knew she had changed.

They didn't know if she would ever be the same again.

* * *

 **A/N- Well that ended on a darker note than I had planned. My ending is not as good as I wanted it to be, but oh well. Anyway, can anyone guess where I got Cynthia's speech from? (for the record, I don't own it).**

 **Sometime soon I will be posting a poll for the two Pokemon you want Ash to have caught. I want him to have ten, and I already have the eight I know I want, but I won't say which ones! Stay tuned, the plot really gets going in the next chapter! So, I hoped you enjoyed it, and don't forget to review!**

 **See y'all later!**

 **DarkLucario98**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Hello everyone! To stave off any confusion, this chapter starts off a few days after the attack, and time progresses. Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter Three

A secretary ran quietly into a dark room.

The room was fairly large and decorated spartanly. There was a sizable desk in the back with a computer on it, and a floor to ceiling window behind it. Behind the desk was a large chair turned around. To the left of the desk was a large screen mounted on the wall. A large Persian was lying down next to the desk.

"Sir!" She rang out.

The man swiveled around in his chair to face her.

"What do you want? It better be worth my time." A cold voice said from behind a large desk.

"It is. We've managed to capture the champion of the Sinnoh League."

"Good. I heard that the Conference had a little 'accident', and though we were seen, they don't know for certain that it was us, and I'm willing to forget it this time." He gave her a harsh questioning look "Which agent managed this operation?"

She looked down under his glare "I-it was the mercenary sir. He was brought in after the other agents failed to create a viable course of action."

"Of course it was," He stood up and turned around, looking out the window. "I should've known that none of my idiot grunts could have executed a successful mission. When we pay him, give him his usual payment with an extra five percent for a job well done. We will need him again sooner or later, so we need to keep him interested."

"Yes sir," The secretary scribbled down her orders on a small notepad "anything else sir?"

"...When will the Ketchum boy arrive here?" He asked coolly.

"According to _his_ last message, eight hours, mark."

"Good," He looked at her "And who were the other agents who failed their orders and blew their cover in Sinnoh?"

"Um," She looked over her clipboard, which held a report of the situation "Jessie and James sir. They were originally assigned to be in charge of the mission, but came back here after giving the assignment to the mercenary."

"I can't say I'm surprised..." He paused, then gave a sadistic smirk "When the boy arrives and is transported to my office, detain those two fools and have someone guard them outside of this room until I call them in. I believe they will make an excellent... example, for Ketchum."

"Yes sir!" The secretary was terrified now, and scrawled down the details. "I-is that all?"

"Yes." He turned back around "Now get out!"

"Y-yes sir!" She squeaked before she rapidly walked out of the room.

The man walked to his chair and sat down, folding his hands on his desk.

"Good." Giovanni chuckled darkly "With Ketchum's aura, my plan will finally come into fruition.

* * *

A small black plane was flying across the sea, towards the Kanto region from the direction of Sinnoh. It was a fairly standard civilian aircraft, designed to be flown over long distances, making it ideal for across sea, inter regional travel.

The pilot was an average sized man, with a relatively normal appearance. The only thing off about him that he had piercing red eyes, and since that was easy enough to change with a pair of contacts, no one cared to spare him a second glance. That was what made him so good at his job. He was able to walk around in any city, town, or village, and no one thought twice about it. Not too tall, not too short, not too muscular, not too skinny, and the poke balls at his belt made him seem like another Pokemon trainer. He was just another average Joe.

So it seemed.

However, _this_ Joe was a feared, deadly mercenary who seemed to align himself with Team Rocket, unless someone else would pay him better, which few could. His Pokemon could rival any champion, and he himself could take on Bruno in hand to hand combat and win. Even though he could take care of himself, he was always armed, whether it be with the Ka-Bar in his boot or his CQBP in it's holster at his torso. His other weapons were his only six poke balls that rested on his belt, and a Pikachu that was sleeping in the seat next to him.

"Wake up Pika." The man rubbed his Pikachu on his head "I could use the company, and I know you've slept more than you need to lately."

Pikachu woke up quickly with a coo, enjoying his trainer's attention.

"Pika, pikachu?" Pikachu asked him with a yawn.

"Oh, I just need someone to talk to." He jerked his thumb behind him, pointing it at an unconscious boy tied up in a seat "And our guest won't be talking much for a while. As a matter of fact, he's what I want to talk about."

"Ch pi?" The electric mouse gave him a curious look.

"I know, and I actually feel bad about this one." He frowned "I think we may have gone too far, and even though it's too late to go back, I think we should owe him one in the future. If he even lives."

"Pi pika, chu." Pi looked at him sternly.

"I know that we have to do this," The man sighed "It's just, he's seventeen for crying out loud, and he's already won a league! I feel bad about kidnapping him when he has so much potential especially since he's only a year younger than me. Ash is basically famous already! I didn't want to get into this business, and I'm sure he won't either. And did we really need to do this in order to eventually get revenge? It might have been better to have just told Giovanni no. It's not like he would have tried something. He knows better than to cross us, and he trusts us." He gave Pikachu a look of regret "I just think that we should've sat this one out."

"Pikachu."

"I _know_ it's too late!" He took off his red hat that he only wore when he would be alone for long periods of time, and tiredly ran a hand through his black hair "Let's just deliver him to Giovanni, and get out of their. We've almost made enough money, and all we're missing is some extra fire power."

"Pi _ka_!" Pikachu glared at him.

"I know, I wasn't saying that you guys aren't strong enough," The man defended himself "I was just saying that we need another man to help us. I can't be in two place at once if I have to be. I think we learned that after the Fuchia incident with those ninjas."

"Pi." Pikachu shuddered.

"Exactly." He put his hat back on "Once we've finished this job, we won't take any more like it, and if if somehow comes up that the kid needs our help in the future, we'll help him any way possible, as long as it doesn't affect our mission."

"Chu." Pikachu nodded his head, glad to help his trainer.

The man continued to pilot the plane "Now, we need to deliver him." He added sarcastically "And it's always nice to see Gio again."

Pikachu snorted before curling back up and falling asleep again.

He look back at Ash before concentrating on his flying "Sorry kid, I don't want to, but I gotta do this."

…

As the plane touched down in the Rocket base hours later, a squad of armed rockets jogged over to it, rolling a stretcher along with them. After the plane slowed to a stop, they stood next to the door, and waited for the mercenary to bring out the prisoner. The door opened, revealing a man with black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing jeans, and a brown jacket with pads on the elbows, shoulders, chest, and chest for protection that were basically invisible to the people around him. On his hands were black SAP gloves that looked like normal finger less gloves. Resting on his head was an OD fatigue cap, and he was wearing black sunglasses.

"What's your confirmation code?" A grunt roughly asked the man, verifying that he was the man they were waiting for.

"...Alpha Nine'r Foxtrot." He told him quietly.

"We've been expecting you back Greil." Everyone in Team Rocket had heard of the infamous mercenary who was one of the few who had earned Giovanni's trust with his enormous strength "Is that the subject?" The grunt pointed to the window where Ash could could be seen.

Greil nodded silently.

The grunt nodded back "Then let's get him to Giovanni."

Greil pulled out the unconscious Ash out of the plane and lied him down on the stretcher. As the Rockets lined up beside it, the mercenary rolled the stretcher into the base.

The base was a large tower in the middle of a forest. The tower was mostly steel plated, with only a few, bulletproof, windows near the top, and it had a large red R above the massive entrance, and said entrance was a massive door, that lifted up and down. The tower wasn't taller than the trees though, as that would give away their position, so it went deep underground to compensate. It had a large lake nearby where they got fresh drinking water, and, obviously, the place was crawling with rocket grunts.

Greil walked through the door, and rolled Ash to an elevator, where the escort departed from him. He pressed the up button and waited. When it came down, he stepped in and pressed the button for Giovanni's office. With a ding, the door opened and Greil stepped out and pushed Ash to Giovanni's door, in front of two guards.

"Confirmation code?" The guard asked.

Greil quietly responded "...Alpha Nine'r Foxtrot"

The guard radioed his superior, confirming the code. "Go on in," He jerked his head towards the door "the boss has been waiting."

With a nod and brief hesitation, Greil rolled Ash into Giovanni's office.

* * *

"Welcome back Greil." Giovanni shook the mercenaries hand "I'm very happy with your performance on this assignment."

"..." Greil stared at him.

"Yes, yes," The Team rocket leader waved his hand "I know you don't like to talk. But I _would_ like to know how you managed to kidnap our friend here," He pointed at Ash "in one of the largest coliseums in the world, and we both know that G-men and Pokemon Rangers were placed in the crowd for defense if needed, because there always are."

Greil didn't answer, knowing he could profit from Giovanni's curiosity.

Giovanni eye twitched, but he kept his cool "Fine, I'll double your bonus this time.. say, ten percent extra?"

The mercenary looked at him and replied "...Espeon. Teleportation."

"Of course," Giovanni slowly nodded "It would be easy to throw a poke ball onto the field, and a psychic type could teleport him to another location, though you would have to sit close to the field in the first place."

Greil just stood there next to Ash, staring at Giovanni.

"But you want your payment now, don't you?" Giovanni chuckled as he walked around his desk and sat down "Melanie will give you your money, don't worry. That's all we require of you for now. You're dismissed."

Greil turned around and walked to the door. He stopped as he turned the handle. What he did next surprised Giovanni.

"What are you planning on doing with the boy? Will you kill him?" He spoke with his back still turned.

Giovanni got over his initial surprise quickly, after all, he wasn't the boss for nothing. "No, we won't kill him, he's too valuable. We will recruit him, train him, and send him out after the league stops searching for him. Why do you ask?"

Greil opened the door "...Just curious." and with that, he walked out, and left the base, feeling a pang of regret.

* * *

Giovanni sighed. It seems that he would never figure out that man.

"Melanie," Giovanni said into the phone "send Dr. Fuji up her. Tell him the subject has arrived."

While he was waiting, Giovanni looked at the Sinnoh League champion, the boy who's caused him so much trouble.

'Ironic really,' Giovanni thought with a smirk 'that one of Team Rockets worst enemies would be the key to my master plan.'

The door opened again, and in walked a man with white hair, brown pants and a lab coat.

"What do yo require of me sir?" The scientist asked Giovanni.

"I need you to wake him up." Giovanni told him "Greil gave him a sedation, and he's already restrained, so all that's left is for him to wake up so we may begin."

"Yes sir." Dr. Fuji searched in his pocket, took a needle, and plunged it into the skin on Ash's forearm.

He had "It should only take around fifteen minutes sir."

"Good." Giovanni sat down "Now leave us immediately."

Dr. Fuji bowed his head before rushing out of the office. Giovanni sighed contentedly, and closed his eyes while he waited for Ash to wake.

* * *

"Uuhhhh..."

Ash slowly stirred, and looked around, but his vision was blurry from being unconscious for so long.

"W-where am I?" He tried to rub his eyes, only to find that his hand was bound by something.

"What the!" Ash tried to sit up, but he was confronted with the same problem.

"What's going on!?" Ash started to freak out, and thrashed about.

"You shouldn't do that," a voice said from in front of him "you should conserve your energy. You'll need it."

Ash listened, but not out of a sense of respect, but out of fear of what he said. He waited until his eyes focused again, then took a look at the man. What he saw angered him. Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket was sitting in front of him.

"Giovanni," Ash snarled, enraged "What do you want with me?"

"I want something few could ever give me. I want a power, that only you could supply." Giovanni smirked. "I want your aura."

It took Ash a moment to register what he said. He didn't expect Giovanni to give him answers that easily.

"My… my aura?" Ash stuttered "How do you even know about that? Jessie and James never saw me use it."

"Do you really think that Jesse and James were the only ones who ever reported to me?" He laughed "Who else was there when you saved the Tree of Beginning?"

"No one but me Pikachu and Lucario." Ash thought for a moment "Wait! Are you saying Kidd Summers is a part of Team Rocket?" The idea seemed ridiculous.

"Not exactly," Giovanni shook his head "but I do pay her to inform me of events that she deems important to my organization. And you using aura was very important. I need your gift to aid me in my plan."

Ash rolled his eyes "Like I would ever help you! I would never help Team Rocket. You're evil!"

"Oh, don't worry," Giovanni folded his hands together "We'll fix that in soon."

"Wait minute!" Ash was worried about what he meant by that "I don't even know how to use my aura! I wouldn't even know where to start!"

"I figured as much." Giovanni pulled up a picture on the screen from his computer "That's why I will give you one of these."

Ash craned his neck to look at the TV, and what he saw worried him.

"You want me to learn how to use my aura from a Riolu?" The idea seemed feasible to him. Too feasible.

"Yes."

Ash closed his eyes, steeling himself "Good luck with that. I'll never co-operate."

"I thought you wouldn't." Giovanni pressed a button on his computer "Luckily, I planned for this."

The door to his office opened, and before Ash could ask any questions, two figures with hoods over their heads were shoved into the room by the guards. Giovanni stood up and walked over to them

"I know Ash," Giovanni stopped "that you have some sort of fondness for these two."

Thoughts were racing through Ash's head. Who were these two, and what was Giovanni planning to do with them? However, his thoughts were interrupted.

"They have proven useless to me, and I will use them to show you what I have the power to do."

Giovanni ripped the hoods off, revealing a woman with long purple hair, and a man with shoulder length blue hair. They looked at Ash with pleading eyes, but said nothing, as they were gagged.

Giovanni lifted a pistol to James' head "This is just a taste of what the punishment you could receive."

Tears formed in the duo's eyes as they realized that their time was up, and they screamed, but their screams were muffled by their gags. Giovanni pulled the trigger shooting James through the medulla oblongata, killing him instantly. As the body slumped over, dead, Giovanni walked over, and killed Jesse in the same fashion.

Some blood had been sprayed on Ash, and he was silent, crying for the two best enemies he ever had.

"Now," Giovanni cleaned some blood off his suit with his handkerchief before pocketing it "I think you understand the consequences of your refusal. What do you say now?"

Ash didn't know what to do. On one hand, he could give in, and he would be spared of Giovanni's wrath. On the other, he could fight, and possibly be killed. But, as Ash thought about it, he couldn't just give in. It's not like they could kill him anyway. It was like Giovanni said, Ash had a power which an extreme few could provide. If they killed him, they would lose that power.

"N-never." Ash sniffed.

"Very well," Giovanni sat down at his desk and typed on his computer "you've forced my hand again."

"What do you mean?"

"I," Giovanni looked at Ash "have all of your Pokemon from Professor Oak's ranch and that you had on you in Sinnoh."

Ash gasped, and the door opened once again. A guard walked in and handed Giovanni a poke ball before leaving once more.

"This poke ball contains a Gible. Your Gible to be precise, and since you refused my offer again, he will be the one to pay." Giovanni fingered the poke ball

"You w-wouldn't." Ash whimpered.

"I would." Giovanni lifted his arm and threw the ball on the ground before smashing it with his boot.

The guilt Ash felt at that moment was soul crushing. He was responsible for the deaths of two of his friends, and one of his Pokemon, who were his family. All Ash wanted was for it all to end, for someone to jump out and say that it was all a big joke. But that wasn't the case. This was real.

"Fine!" Ash half screamed, half sobbed "I'll join you! Just don't hurt any more of my friends."

"Excellent." Giovanni walked over to Ash "I thought that you might see it my way." He undid the straps restraining Ash "Just remember that I have your Pokemon, and every time you try an escape or betray me, one will die, and it will be your fault."

Giovanni went and sat back down as Ash sat up, a broken look on his face. He was thinking of a way out of this mess, but saw none. If he tried to do anything, his Pokemon would be murdered, and couldn't allow that to happen. He would have to dirty his hands to protect his friends.

"What do you want me to do first?" Ash croaked, disgusted with himself.

"Nothing for now." Giovanni rubbed his chin "Though I will have to make up a code name for you now, seeing as how we can't let the world know that you're back when you go into the field. I know, I'll make you my second double 0. That way, no lowlife grunts will bother you, and you can master your aura without the disturbances of a grunt. I need it quickly. And, I will assign 009 as your partner. She will be able to show you the ropes adequately. Your designation will be 001, and your new name will be… Cyprus."

"..." Ash stayed silent, waiting to be told what to do. It would take a while to get used to this, if he ever would. Giovanni typed some more on his computer, and a few minutes later, the door opened again, revealing Domino.

"Yes sir?" She saluted him.

"I have a new assignment for you." Giovanni pointed to Ash "He will be your personal trainee. I want him trained to the best of your ability."

Domino bowed her head "Yes sir. Who is he?"

Giovanni nodded to Ash, and he turned around, giving her a good look at his face.

She studied it for a second "Ketchum?" 009 gasped "But he's the enemy!"

"He was, but he's had a... change of mind, if you will. And his new name is Ash. When his training is complete, he will become your partner, is that clear!"

"Y-yes sir!" She said, still shocked by Ketchum's arrival "When will we begin?"

"Start now," Giovanni decided "But first, take him to the armory, and let him pick his six most powerful Pokemon, and give him the Riolu."

"But sir," Domino exclaimed "with that many powerful Pokemon, won't he be a threat?"

"Don't worry about that." Giovanni coldly told her "I have that covered. Cyprus knows what will happen if he tries anything. Right Cyprus?"

The boy nodded in confirmation.

"Good." He looked at Domino "Now go!"

Domino gave another salute before walking out with Ash in tow. They walked down the hall in silence, Ash still grieving his losses, and Domino was still resentful at Giovanni for forcing her to train and partner up with him.

Once they reached their destination, Domino pulled out a key card, and slid it through the key hole. Her key allowed her access to anywhere in any Rocket base. Domino opened the door, and told him to go inside. Ash walked into the armory and immediately saw his rows of poke balls. He thought for a few minutes, then grabbed six of them before turning around, even though he desperately wanted to take them all. Domino was standing there with a poke ball in her hand. She handed it to him, and he responded with a nod. It was still hard for him to talk after what happened.

They exited the armory and Domino locked it again.

She turned to Ash "I'll show to your room. It will be next to mine, as you are apparently going to be a double 0. It's spacious, and should you should find it comfortable."

Without even giving him a chance to respond, she started down the hall, in a different direction this time. After a few minutes of walking, they passed the regular dormitories, and arrived at the dorms for admins, and now the two double 0s.

They stopped at his room.

"This is it." Domino jerked a thumb at his room. "This is where you'll be staying."

Ash looked at her "Thank you."

She looked surprised, then handed him his room key, walked to her room, opened the door, and disappeared inside.

Ash watched her leave, and went into his own room.

* * *

Ash shut the door and glanced over his dorm. It was very simple, with just a bathroom, bed, chest for his belongings, TV, and a dresser and closet for his clothes. Other than that, the room was empty. It was big though. Big enough for him and his Pokemon at least. Ash rooted through his closet and dresser, finding that they were already full of his clothes, and Team Rocket uniforms. After a little exploring, Ash sat down in his bed and wept. Wept for his situation, wept for his friends, wept for Jesse and James, and wept for innocent little Gible. Ash threw all of his poke balls, and seven Pokemon materialized, and seeing their trainer in such a state, rushed to comfort him, even the new Riolu. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder as he explained the situation to them, and it was grave. They all cried over Gible together, for they all loved him, and he was too young to die, especially by Pokemon standards.

When Ash was finished, he fell asleep from crying in the embrace of his Pokemon. After Riolu introduced himself to everyone, they talked among themselves, coming to a conclusion.

They all promised themselves to help their trainer get through this and vowed to get stronger alongside him, because they knew, that he would depend on them from now on.

* * *

 **A/N- Okay, just to clear some things up, the Pokemon that Ash chose and will catch will be revealed in the next chapter. I introduced some characters here that will be important, and I think you can guess who they are! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns feel free to review or PM me.**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- Nothing pressing to say comes to mind... right now… oh, and bear in mind that I switched how many Pokemon Ash would have when I posted the poll.**

 **And for the record= "speech" 'thought' '** _telepathy'_

 **So, please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter Four

A soft breeze blew through the trees in a forest, somewhere in the Kanto region, where a man and his Pokemon were sitting around a campfire. Around the camp were two tents, the man, and over twelve Pokemon.

"You know what Pikachu?" the man asked softly "It's been two years today."

"Pika." The mouse glumly, licking his trainer's cheek.

"Yeah," He sighed, running his hand through his black hair "I miss them all too. But we can't dwell on that. We have to stay focused, or one of us could get really hurt. We work for Team Rocket now, no matter how much we don't want to."

"Pikachu."

"I know, but at least we have new friends now. They have our back now. Even though I want things to be the way they were before, I'm kind of… happy."

"Pi!"

"No, of course I'm not happy with the work, but you can't deny that you're not happy with our new teammates, and the little time off that we get it so peaceful."

"Pikachu, pika." Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder

"Exactly,"Ash stood up with a stretch. "now let's go make sure everyone's ready for tomorrow. I know it sucks to be caught unprepared."

Ash stood up and walked around looking at his Pokemon. First, he walked over to some Pokemon grouped together, five of the Pokemon that Ash had kept from Team Rocket.

The sixth was obviously Pikachu, and the rest were some of his old time powerhouses. Since his Sinnoh team was his newest, Ash had left them behind for their own protection, fearing his new life would prove too much for them.

"You all ready?" Ash asked to the collective group.

They responded with their respective names, informing him that they would be ready for the next day.

"Good." Ash gave them a nod "Now get some shut eye, that's an order."

As they all curled up for some sleep, Ash turned around to his comparatively newer catches and mimicked his actions from the others. Ash then went back to his space in the camp, and sat down on the log in front of the tents.

"We might all be ready boss," a certain Scratch Cat Pokemon sat down next to him "but are you? I know how much you hate Orre."

"Yes." Ash rubbed him on the head "And we both know I don't really have a choice. Giovanni sends me out there so I can work freely without being recognized."

"Yeah…"

The two sat there for a while, just looking at the night sky.

After a few minutes, Meowth turned to Ash. "Ya know, every time I watch the stars, I remember that night."

"Me too." Ash closed his eyes "That was the worst week of my life, but that day was good."

* * *

" _Argh!"_

 _Ash fell to the ground, clutching his bruised and bloodies side._

" _Is that all you've got?" Domino sneered at him, holding her wooden staff over the bruised and beaten boy. "Because if it is, I might as well just not even bother with you!"_

 _On the first day of his formal training, Domino had decided that he needed some fighting and survival experience, which basically meant that she took him out into the woods, beat the crap out of him, and left him to die overnight, only to come back the next day to see if he had survived, and repeat. To say that she still resented him as her future partner was an understatement._

" _Stand up!" she screamed at the boy._

" _I… c-can't." Ash stuttered, trying to get back on his feet._

" _Well then," she gave him one last blow to the rib cage then spit on his face "we'll try again tomorrow. Good night, worm."_

 _With that, she walked away, leaving him broken and on the ground, unable to fend for himself._

" _Oh, man," Ash groaned "how am I supposed to survive if I can't even stand by myself? Am I even worth it?"_

 _He sat there on the ground, wondering if he even wanted himself to survive, when he heard a familiar voice call out to him._

" _Twerp!"_

" _What? Who is that?" Ash twisted his neck enough to see Meowth standing in a tree. "What are you doing out here Meowth?"_

" _What does it look like, twerp?" he jumped down on the ground front of Ash from the tree "I'm waiting for Jesse and James to get back so we can steal your Pikachu. I've got a new machine up and ready to go."_

 _The boy visibly cringed, guilt pouring over him like a waterfall. He knew that they weren't ever coming back to Meowth, and the worst part was that it was his fault._

" _Hey, what's the matter?" Meowth walked over to him "I know you just got beaten up by a girl and all, but why so glum? And why are you hanging with her anyway? Ya know she's a part of Team Rocket, don't you?"_

" _W-well," Ash started tearing up "I know this might be hard for you to hear, but… Jesse and James... they aren't coming back."_

" _Ya, sure," Meowth rolled his eyes "those two nimrods could survive anything. And they have before. Remember the Gyrados pod we fell into, and when we fell off that Lugia's back from a thousand feet up, and the countless times we've exploded? We survived that."_

" _Could they survive being shot point blank?" Ash asked miserably._

" _...What do you mean?" Meowth frowned._

" _Exactly that. They were shot. I thought you knew."_

" _Shot. Shot?" Meowth shakily repeated, placing a trembling paw onto his forehead "By… by who?"_

" _It was Giovanni," Ash spat "he killed them to force me into joining Team Rocket, which is why I'm out here with Domino. I'm training to be the second double 0."_

" _That's terrible." Meowth sank to his knees and started sobbing_

" _What am I gonna do now? They were all I had. Without them, I have nothing left in my life."_

" _I know how you feel." Ash had an idea. Since Meowth losing his two best friends was his fault, he felt like he owed it to him to help him out. "I've got an idea. You could come with me! I can use all the friends I can get now."_

" _R-really?" Meowth wiped his nose._

" _Yeah!" Ash managed to get into a sitting position "Since this has been all my fault, this is the least I can do for you. Providing a home is nothing compared to losing your best friends, but it's the best I can do now, and I know where you're coming from. What do you say?"_

" _Hmm," Meowth sniffed "are you sure? After all, I have tried to steal Pikachu too many times to count."_

" _That's okay Meowth," Ash pulled him into a hug "we can all forgive you."_

" _Gee," Meowth reciprocated the hug "thanks a lot twerp. Well, I guess that's boss now. This means the world to me, but can I think on it for a little bit? I want to make sure this is what I really want."_

" _Of course," Ash laid on the ground and patted the grass beside him "lie down and think all you want. I don't want you to be forced into anything you don't want to do."_

 _Meowth complied, lying down next to Ash, thinking, while gazing at the stars in the sky._

 _After a few minutes, Meowth turned to Ash, "I think this would be perfect. There's nothing out there for me anymore, and you're the closest thing I have to a friend right now. I want to come with you."_

" _That's great Meowth." Ash rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a poke ball._

" _Thanks boss."Meowth reached out his paw, and Ash took it, shaking it._

" _No problem Meowth." Ash tapped him with a poke ball, and it dinged three times, catching without any resistance. Ash threw the ball and let him out "Welcome to the team!"_

* * *

"That night wasn't a total loss." Ash said to Meowth "After all, where would I be without my technician?"

"Dead at the bottom of Team Magma's HQ." Meowth smirked "Let's face it boss, you're terrible with computers."

"I'm not that bad," Ash huffed and crossed his arms "I did manage to slice into that guard bot and disable it." He gave Meowth a prideful look.

Meowth held up a paw and used it to count to three. He started to roar with laughter, falling off his log as a blond stuck her head out of the tent next to Ash's, and gave him an indignant glare.

"No you didn't!" She yelled at him "That was me! All you did was get it's attention in the first place you idiot!"

"Oh… yeah." Ash looked down, crestfallen "Thanks for reminding me Dom."

"No problem. Anytime your ego get's inflated," Domino crawled out of the tent and sat on another log around the fire, next to him "I'll be there to pop it again."

Meowth was still on the ground, rolling around, holding his sides in laughter "Oh that's too good! I can still remember the look on your face when she jumped down from the ceiling and disabled that junk pile! You were so surprised, hahaha!"

"Shut up Meowth!" Ash growled as he threw an aura sphere at the cat.

But Meowth just dodged them and continued to laugh until Ash caught him with one.

"Ow!" Meowth groaned, smoking "Come on boss! I was just having fun."

Ash just rolled his eyes "Yeah, at my expense."

Meowth glared at Ash, unsheathing his claws, and Ash glared straight back with an aura sphere at the ready.

"Okay," Domino interrupted the two quarreling teammates "If you two are done arguing like children, I would like to discuss tomorrow."

"Fine," Ash gave Meowth one last stink eye then got serious "what do you want to talk about?"

"Well for starters," Domino yawned "how do you plan on getting us into the Galactic base?"

"Well," Ash rubbed his chin thoughtfully "according to your intel, the main building has an underground access tunnel that has an entrance from the sea, and a landing pad from on one of the guard towers that's visible from the air, so I was thinking one of us would take Blastoise through the water entrance, and the other can take Charizard and land on the helipad. Since it's a small base, we don't really need stealth, and we can just erase the security footage from the last twenty four hours to cover our tracks. We'll just kill everyone inside, get the information we need, then leave the Magma flag we secured to leave Team Rocket out of the blame."

"Hmm," Domino hummed, drumming her fingers on her thigh "how many grunts are going to be there?"

"Not too many," Ash replied "probably just over a hundred."

"Okay," Domino stood up and stretched her back before sitting down "which teams are you going to use?"

"Obviously Pikachu, Charizard, and Blastoise," Ash looked at his sleeping Pokemon across the fire "and I was thinking my close combat specialists since we'll be in tight quarters, my technician for the mainframe to get the info, and the espionage duo before hand to make sure they're no surprises. And maybe the recon team to make sure there are no survivors. I don't want to take any chances."

"So you're bringing Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Lucario, Gallade, Meowth, Gengar, Ninjask, and Sceptile." Domino nodded in approval "That will definitely be enough for the job, and I think I'll bring Espeon, Luxray, and Absol, and Mightyena."

"That should be enough protection." Ash told her "And it should be plenty of muscle to get the job done."

"Yes it will," Domino hit him on the shoulder "though I don't need protecting. Now who will go which way?"

"I'll take Charizard and you can use Blastoise."

"Of course," Domino smirked "you're practically addicted to your Charizard. I don't know what you'd do in a fight without him."

"I see nothing wrong with it," Ash defended himself "Charizard works really well with Pikachu, and I can't do battle without Pikachu. Plus, flying is awesome!"

"Yeah, we know," Meowth waved his hand and walked to his bed "this isn't anything you haven't said before."

Domino just smiled at Ash.

"Okay, I get your point," Ash put out the fire with a bucket of water, and walked to his tent "now I'm going to bed, and you should too."

"Okay," Domino followed suit, heading to her own tent "Goodnight Ash."

"Goodnight Dom." Ash responded from his tent as he settled in for the night.

* * *

"Wake up everyone!"

Ash walked around his camp, rousing everyone from their sleep.

"It's already oh four hundred, it's time to wake up."

Ash had already been up for an hour already, meditating his aura for the coming battle, and was ready to go. It was over a days flight over to Orre, and they needed to get going as soon as possible.

Everyone got up and ready quickly, then ate a quick cold breakfast.

"Okay." Ash turned to his Pokemon and pulled out their poke balls "Everyone, return!"

All of Ash's Pokemon but Pikachu, Meowth, and Charizard were pulled into their poke balls by a red beam. Pikachu and Meowth jumped onto Ash's shoulders as he and Domino climbed onto Charizard.

"You ready Dom?" Ash asked her

"I'm ready." She responded, grabbing onto his sides with a yawn "As long as we break before we get there. I need more sleep, and Charizard will need the rest."

"I've already planned for that." Ash yelled as they took off. "Charizard, to Orre!"

* * *

A day later, Ash and Domino touched down on the coast of Orre, two miles from the Galactic base.

Ash was ready to go, but Domino insisted on an hours rest before they got started. Whether it was because the sun would be down in an hour, or that she wanted more sleep, Ash had no idea. But, he complied, figuring the cover of moonlight could only be a boon to them, even if they weren't going for a stealthy entrance.

So when they mobilized at sunset, they were ready and rested.

"Gengar, Ninjask," Ash pointed in the direction of the base "go make sure that there isn't anything that we can't handle. And go for speed, I want this done as fast as possible."

They obeyed, and took off towards the base. When they were sure it was safe, the two would send them the all clear signal. Ninjask would fly Gengar away as he shoots the hyper beam into the air.

"You all set?" Ash asked as he put on his battle gear, which consisted of a black Kevlar vest, a black jacket, black pants, and black combat boots. The odd piece out was a dark blue aura guardians hat, but it lacked the aura guardian's symbol. Domino had gotten it for him as her own way of apologizing for being so cruel to him after he saved her life. There was no symbol because Ash thought that he wasn't worthy of the honor of wearing such a hat, with him working for Team Rocket, so they compromised. He kept the hat as long as she got rid of the symbolized sash around it.

The Pokemon he was bringing roared in response, and Ash turned to Domino. "Are you ready?"

He received a curt nod in response.

The base was about a five minute flight, and Gengar and Ninjask could be through it in a little more than ten. Gengar's ability to become invisible and phase through solid objects, and Ninjask's silent speed made them very effective spies.

Roughly twenty minutes later, an orange beam shot into the air above the base, and Ash and his Domino got onto their Pokemon.

"Let's get started."

Ash raced off on his Charizard, and Domino did likewise on Blastoise.

Charizard flew at a breakneck pace, soaring above the trees, with Ash holding on tight. He had seven poke balls on his belt and a determined look on his face. The information they were going to extract was important to him for two reasons. One, it was what his job demanded of him, and he didn't have much of a say in the matter. Two, the info contained the locations of every Team Galactic base, big or small, all the way from Orre to Sinnoh.

Ash figured that even though he was being forced to do evil via Team Rocket, there was no reason why he couldn't still screw with the other evil organizations as much as he could.

This mission killed two birds with one stone.

As the base came into view, Ash couldn't help but think that it was unimpressive. It was only made up of a single large bunker with a single small tower, the landing pad. Patrolling the perimeter were about forty grunts, all armed with a poke ball and assault rifles.

Once close enough, Charizard let out a bloodcurdling roar, and fired a burst of flames into the air.

The grunts saw him, and opened fire.

"Charizard," Ash turned him into a dive, closing in on the closest grunt "flamethrower!"

Charizard threw his head back before aiming and firing red hot flames at the grunt with no hesitation. When you live in his kind of lifestyle, you quickly learn that hesitation can only get someone hurt, or worse.

The man was melted in seconds, and Charizard proceeded to burn or tear apart the grunts around him.

Ash jumped off of Charizard, and engaged a squad of grunts. Pikachu and Meowth jumped off of his shoulders and attacked the Pokemon that the grunts released.

The squad was having trouble with Ash. When ever they tried to shoot him, he just threw up a shield and deflected the bullets, aiming it to hit them. After two grunts were killed, they realized that they would have to fight with their hands. Little did they know, that was one of Ash's specialties.

The first grunt ran up to Ash and threw a sloppy right hook. Ash grabbed his arm and punched him in the solar plexus, and as he went down, he snapped his neck. The next two charged and him shot his leg out, kicking his foot hard into the ankle of one, while using the force of the kick to propel himself into the other grunt, knocking him over. The first grunt fell as his ankle shattered, and Ash shoved an aura sphere down the others throat before stomping on the his skull, crushing it. As the second grunt exploded, Ash jumped into the air, and shot aura spheres at the remaining grunts.

As Pikachu and Meowth finished off the rest of the Pokemon, a final grunt sneaked up behind them and got ready to blast them.

Ash noticed the grunt, and as Meowth took his claws out of the last lifeless body, he shot a ball of energy up over at him. The aura sphere flew quickly, and smashed into the grunt, vaporizing him instantly.

Looking around at the carnage, Ash wiped some blood off of his face before letting out a whistle.

Charizard flew over to Ash, picked them up, and threw them on his back.

Charizard flapped his wings strongly, and flew up to the landing pad, and Ash slid off of him.

"Good job." Ash took out his poke ball "Return." Charizard disappeared in a red beam, and was sucked into the poke ball. Ash put the ball on his pocket and pulled out two more, and threw them out.

Lucario and Gallade came out in their fighting stances, prepared for a battle.

"Not yet you two," Ash pointed to the entrance "they're in there."

Lucario and Gallade both nodded and relaxed their stance in response, and Pikachu and Meowth jumped down from his shoulder.

"You two stay behind and just observe." Ash told them "Pikachu, I really don't need you here, and I don't want you getting hurt early on, Meowth. We still have to meet up with Domino, and I can't afford you getting injured before we get you to the mainframe. Understood?"

"Sure thing/Pika!"

Neither of them were worried or disappointed. Lucario, Gallade, and Ash were the most effective team he had. They worked in unison with each other, and Lucario and Ash's style complimented Gallade's perfectly. Cyprus and Lucario's style were so similar because Lucario had taught Ash his. Ash had learned everything about aura from him, and used that style and blended it together with Domino's fighting style, creating a dangerous combination of the fast and deadly of aura with the psychological battle of S.C.A.R.S that Domino taught him. This allowed him to strike quickly and powerfully at the right spots at an enemy, taking him out of the battle physically or mentally. A hard strike to the right nerve, bone, or tendon, could either make his opponents literally break or capitulate.

The door flew open, catching them off guard, and a grunt came charging out waving his AAI SBR and screaming nonsense. They reacted quickly; Lucario ran towards him, projecting an aura shield to protect them from bullets. Ash sat back under Lucario's cover, with a charged aura sphere at the ready, and Gallade ran behind Lucario. The man sprayed some bullets at the group, only for them to harmlessly bounce off of the shield and onto the ground. Lucario ran next to the man, turning the shield to face Ash as Gallade vaulted over the shield, and knocked the grunt in front of it as Ash released his aura sphere at the shield. The sphere hit the shield and ricocheted off, hitting the man, and killing him.

"Hahahahaha!" a loud cackle resonated around them. They looked up as Gengar and Ninjask dropped down next to them.

"You know," Ash pulled out their poke balls "it would've been nice if you had helped us."

Gengar just laughed and gave him a look that said, come on.

"Whatever." Ash grumbled as he recalled them and put the balls on his belt "Let's go."

They made their way over the dead bodies of the grunts, and went in the entrance to the base.

As they ran down the hall and through the rooms, they noticed something… off, about it. There were dead bodies littered about the walls along the corridors. Ash ran over to the nearest body and checked it's pulse.

"He's dead." He used his aura to check the rest "They're all dead."

Ash stopped and closed his eyes "Lucario, check the area out with your aura. I only sense a few auras in here, and there should be a lot more. Even Domino couldn't take out that many grunts that quickly, and besides, she's still below."

 _'Yes master,'_ Lucario closed his eyes and lifted a paw. The appendages on his head raised in concentration. ' _I.. only sense our auras... two in the lower levels, and three_ _in_ _the room below us,'_

"Okay," Ash thought for a moment "The two downstairs must be Domino and Blastoise. I don't know how everyone vanished though, Gengar and Ninjask would have reported that back before they give the all clear… unless this is another one of their pranks."

' _It's not master.'_ Gallade kneeled by a body ' _Look at these marks. These are electricity and fire burns. Sir Gengar and Sir Ninjask would have used different… methods, mostly decapitation, brain explosions, and taking their hearts out. None of these men were killed in those ways.'_

"Well, crap." Ash was stumped. He thought hard about it, but nothing came to mind.

'What could've happened?' Ash had no idea, but when nothing came to mind, he decided on a plan of action.

"Pikachu, run down and bring Domino up here." Ash released Sceptile "Go with him."

Sceptile came out of his poke ball and took of after Pikachu.

Ash turned to the Pokemon remaining with him "Here's the plan. After they bring back Domino, we're going to stick together. Obviously, something weird is going on, and we can't split up, just in case it's powerful. I think whatever caused this are the life signatures below us. So when Pikachu and Sceptile bring Domino here, we're going to storm him, and find out who he is and what he's doing here."

' _I think that's an excellent idea master."_ Lucario closed his eyes again " _And here comes_ _Miss Domino now'_

Pikachu and Sceptile blurred in front of them, and Domino showed up a second after.

"There you are Cyprus!" Domino exclaimed "Do you know that everyone's already dead?"

"Yes," Ash opened a door leading to a stairwell "And the ones we think are responsible are downstairs. Come on.

Ash led everyone into the stairwell and down the stair, and paused once they made it to the bottom.

"Lucario, tell me if when leaves the room. We'll wait for a few minutes, and see if he comes out."

' _Yes master."_ Lucario began to walk with his eyes closed, watching the only other life forces nearby.

While they waited, Ash began to meditate pondering the situation.

' _Master,'_ Lucario opened his eyes ' _I don't think that he's going anywhere anytime soon. His aura suggests that he's in thought, and he's standing still.'_

"Well if that's the case," Domino said "we should ambush him while he's distracted."

"I agree." Ash stood up and told everyone to quietly walk towards the computer room.

Ash slowly opened the door, and peeked in.

He saw a three things inside. A man working on the computers, a Pikachu on his shoulder, and an Espeon sitting next to him.

A hazy memory stirred within Ash. He remembered back to when his life first starting going downhill. He thought back to who he was kidnapped by; this man looked like him, but Ash couldn't be sure.

So he recalled his Pokemon, and signaled for Domino and Pikachu to stay behind, and ignoring their incredulous looks, he snuck in.

He wanted to get a better look at him before he decided what he wanted to do; he blended back into the shadows to observe the man, using his aura to mask his presence from the Sun Pokemon.

"Come on..." the man typed furiously at the keyboards "I know you're here somewhere."

"Pika."

"I know Pikachu, but we need to know if they have any useful dirt on Team Rocket."

Ash started in surprise. This man is an enemy of Team Rocket?

"Here we go!" He pulled up a file "This is a map of Team Rocket complexes here in Orre, and they're all remote enough so we can destroy them without getting caught."

Ash was really surprised now. Not only does this man hate Team Rocket, but he also apparently has the power to take some of their bases.

'Wait,' he thought 'that's not the reason I'm hiding here. I've got to stay focused.'

"Hmm. The closest base is about thirty miles away. If we leave tomorrow, we can make it in about a day. After all, we're not in any rush. Right Vee?"

Espeon mewed in agreement, and as the man turned around to pet her, Ash got a good look at his face. What really stood out to him, was the piercing red eyes.

The mystery man's identity was revealed to Ash. Oh yeah, he definitely remembered him.

When he was kidnapped, this man was the one who knocked him out.

Many feelings started to swirl throughout Ash, first and foremost, anger and resentment. This is the guy who ruined his life.

With these thoughts in mind, Ash stepped out of the shadows, poke balls at the ready.

"Hey you!"

* * *

 **A/N- Well, first of all, sorry for the delayed update.**

 **Tell me what you think about my idea for Ash having his Pokemon in ready to go teams. I was kind of disappointed with how it came out, as the idea sounds a lot better in my head, and I have a hard time a lot putting what I'm thinking onto paper!**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N-** " **Speech" 'thoughts' '** _telepathy'_

 **Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter Five

May walked slowly down the dark hallway in her home, sighing.

It was no mystery as to why she was so sad. Even though she's gotten better, May still had episodes where her depression came back, in full force. There was no set date as to when they would crop up, but it did present a pattern. She usually became this way around the anniversary of her beloved's death.

Tears pricked at the edges of May's eyes as she found herself in the kitchen. She searched around, looking for something for a few minutes, and when she didn't find it, she left the room. She went back to her bedroom and cried, for not being able to perform the one thing, that she thought, was constant.

You might not be able to notice it, but you could just barely make out some lines on her upper arm. They weren't completely visible, as she hid them by not wearing sleeveless clothes anymore, but the ends still stuck out sometimes.

Each scar represented another year gone by without Ash. And in May's opinion, they were years not worth living, but since her family put her under something equal to house arrest, suicide was no longer an option. However, May would always find a way to give herself a the next cut.

The first year, she used a simple kitchen knife. Her family found her on the floor, clutching her bleeding arm, and had gotten rid of or locked up all the sharp objects after treating her arm. But May always found a way. She broke glass objects, and used the shards, she chewed her fingernails to razor sharpness, and the most horrifying way she obtained the gashes, was with her Pokemon. But after that, her Father found out and he was forced to take her Pokemon away from her, taking away her last method.

Without what felt like her only friends and ventilation, May took a small dip in her recovery.

Her actions, however, continued to confuse her parents. She was recovered, so, why did she have these relapses? She was finally off her medication, and she acted normally for most of the year, minus these episodes. So the question was, what is the problem? Why did she have this tendency of self mutilation, when the psychiatrists told her family she should've been past it, and that it kept her from fully recovering?

What they didn't realize, was that her scars were what had kept her sane.

* * *

Back when she was in the earliest stages of mental recuperation, she had so much pain, anger, and sadness, and after her attempt on her own life, she only felt emptiness. So she searched. She searched for a way to feel again.

So she tried alcohol.

She drank secretly, hiding it from her family, usually at night in her bedroom. But it failed to bring any new emotion out, and on the first year anniversary of Ash's death, she gave up. She flew into a rage, smashing the bottle she held in her hand on her bed frame.

That's when she found her way out of the spiral of nothingness.

As the bottle broke, glass pieces flew everywhere, one hit her on the arm, and embedded itself into her skin, causing her to yelp in pain, feeling something before it quickly disappeared again.

'Pain,' she had thought. 'I.. I felt something.'

She took the glass out of her arm and stared at it.

Rolling up the sleeve on her nightshirt, she slowly took it and dragged it across her upper arm, cutting a gash in it. She yelled out again, and dropped the glass as searing hot pain coursed throughout her body. But she didn't care. Through the tears and pain, May still managed to smile an emotionless smile. She had found a way to feel again.

* * *

So May sat on her bed crying, wondering what she would do without her security blankets.

After watching her search for a way to cut her herself, Caroline snuck into her room, and sat next to her, comforting her girl. She, like everyone else, was horribly worried for her. But she ruefully knew that she could do little more than try to comfort her when she got like this. May grabbed her mother, and clung onto her, and Caroline hugged her back.

When May's sobs slowly turned into light breaths, indicating she was asleep, she looked at her scars, and lovingly rubbed her daughter's arm. Caroline sighed, wiping her own tears off before standing up and walking to the door.

"Trust me May," Caroline whispered as she cut the lights off "it will get better. I promise."

* * *

The group walked down the path from Littleroot, talking quietly to each other about a topic that was very sensitive. They all knew that May would be in a poor state, she always was this time of year. So every year, they all would meet up and travel to Petalburg to keep her company and help cheer her up.

The group consisted of some of Ash's old pals and traveling buddies, Gary, Dawn, Misty, Brock, and May's little brother, Max. They were a big part of May's initial recovery, and the reason she was still alive.

"She's going to be even worse this year you guys." Max told the group "Mom has and will be watching her like a hawk, and we all know how she is when this time of year rolls around."

"It's okay Max," Brock said "that's why we visit, to help her when she's at her worst."

"Yeah," Gary reassured the worried boy "not only do we want to help, but we need to help, for Ash."

A collective sigh rose from the group and a depressed feeling set in. They all missed the young Pokemon master wannabe, but they knew May had it the worst.

"I know it sucks guys," Misty sighed "but we have to strong for May. Without her friends and family, she would crumble."

"She's right," Brock said "we have to be strong, for May, and we already have the tickets ready to go."

"No need to worry guys." Dawn held onto Gary's arm for support "This is exactly what May needs."

After the rest agreed, the walk to the Petalburg gym was silent, everyone contemplating how this visit would turn out.

* * *

*ding dong*, Brock rang the doorbell.

The door opened, revealing Norman Maple, the Petalburg gym leader.

"Come in, come in!" He hurried them inside "It's great to see you all. May really needs the extra support right now."

The group went inside and sat down around the family room

"That's why we're here Mr. Maple," Dawn beamed "And we have the perfect way to cheer her up!"

"Oh really?" Norman sat down in the couch "May I ask what it is? Caroline, Max, and I have tried everything we could think of to make her happy here, but nothing's worked."

"Well," Gary put his arm around Dawn "we think that's the problem. We think that May doesn't want to be cooped up here, so forcing her to stay is only making her worse."

"So," Brock continued "we bought tickets to a new resort kind of thing, and the stay is surprisingly long. The tickets allot us all a one month stay, so, we're going to take May with us, and hopefully a month in luxury will help her."

"Plus," Max sighed as her rubbed his eyes "we all know that she loves to travel and see new places, _and_ hates having to stay home for long periods of time. After all, that's why she became a trainer in the first place."

Norman and Caroline were surprised. They hadn't thought of that, they were only thinking of keeping May safe from herself.

"Hmm… I don't know." Norman told them thoughtfully "Can you all promise to keep a close eye on her?"

"Especially you Maxwell." Caroline added.

"Don't worry Mom," Max got up and gave his parents a hug "we've got this. And the resort has a ton of Pokemon, so May will be occupied with them, or relaxing."

"A ton of Pokemon?" Norman raised an eyebrow "How many?"

"More than I would care to count." Gary told them, and that was saying a lot, considering a Pokemon professor (even in training) deals with a lot of number.

"I don't know about this." Caroline was a weary of sending her daughter away without her, even if it was with friends and Max. "May just tried to do _it_ again."

The room rang out with gasps.

"Are you serious?" Misty was shocked.

"I thought she was be over that!" Dawn whispered.

"I did too, but she's obviously not." Caroline said with a frown.

"Did she manage to… uh, you know?" Max asked.

"No," Caroline said, relieving everyone "luckily, all the sharp objects are still locked up and her Pokemon are still with Norman's, so she couldn't. After she searched she went back to her room, and cried herself to sleep."

"That's good." Max sighed in relief.

"Honey," Norman rubbed his wife on the back "she isn't getting any better here. This could be what she needs to fully recover and get over Ash."

"...I suppose," Caroline leaned her head on his shoulder "but I can't help but feel worried for my baby girl."

"That's perfectly natural Mrs. Maple." Brock said "I had trouble myself when I started journeying with Ash. I had to leave my siblings who I've been caring for, for what seemed like forever, to a father who had abandoned us."

"I know, but," Caroline was cut off by her husband.

"No buts dear, she needs to get better, and this could help her."

"Oh, okay." Caroline gave a weak smile.

Everyone cheered at that, happy for the opportunity to help their downtrodden friend.

"Now that that's taken care of," Gary said "when do you think we should leave? Our stay starts in two days, and it's roughly a ten hour sail to Kanto, and a two hour magnet train ride to the resort."

"Kanto?" Norman asked "Where in Kanto?"

"In a town to the northeast called Rota." Misty told him "May went their on her journey with Ash, Brock, and Max."

"She went their with Ash?" Caroline was skeptical now "Wouldn't being there remind her of Ash, and make her worse, not better?"

"Maybe," Misty said "but whenever something reminds her of Ash, she just cries it off for an hour or two. So if she does get sad, she'll be fine soon enough."

Caroline nodded, acknowledging her reasoning, but still not wanting to put her daughter through any more pain than necessary.

"I'll wake her up now and tell her the good news!" Dawn squealed.

"Be gentle." Caroline warned the coordinator "She might still be emotional."

"No need to worry!" Dawn responded as she skipped up the stairs.

Dawn made her way to the top of the stairs, then walked over to May's room. She opened up her door, revealing a sleeping May. Dawn quietly walked over to her, and gently woke the girl up.

"Maaay," She said "wake up"

May groaned before she stirred a little. "Go away mom."

"It's not your mom silly." Dawn giggled "Now wake up. I have a surprise for you!"

Dawn said the last part louder than necessary, effectively waking up May.

"Ah!" *Thump* "What the heck!"

May was woken up by Dawn's shouting, and in her surprise, she fell off the bed, taking Dawn with her.

"Ow," May groaned "why did you wake me up Dawn? And why are you here?"

"Funny you ask," Dawn got up and helped May to her feet "because the answer's the same for both. We're all here to take you to a great new resort in Kanto to relax."

"That sounds great." May sat on her bed "But why'd you have to wake me up to tell me? You could've waited."  
"Because I couldn't wait! This is too exciting!"

"Fine," May rubbed her eyes "but I can't go."

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"Because my parents won't let me out of their sight, much less the region."

"Oh, that's not a problem." Dawn told her "We already convinced them to let you go, so there's no excuse to not come. Yay!"

May flopped down on her bed with a sigh "I don't know Dawn. I don't really feel like doing anything."

"Come on May," Dawn sat down next to May and put an arm around her "you need to just relax and have fun. You can't just sit around here for the rest of your life."

"I don't see why not." May grumbled.

"Please," Dawn said "you know you can't, and this will be good for you. Think about it, a whole month of relaxation and playing with cute Pokemon."

May seemed to go into deep thought after that. A month of doing nothing with cute Pokemon to play with? It sounded like it could be fun after all.

"Mm.. okay." May nodded with a small smile.

"Yay yay yay!" Dawn and jumped up, pulling May up with her, and danced around the room.

"D-dawn," May laughed "stop it!"

"But I'm so happy!" Dawn spun around some more before slowing down, then stopping. "This is great, I'll go tell everyone!"

She ran out of the room and barreled down the steps, accidentally knocking Gary down the stairs along the way.

* * *

( _The next morning_ )

May put the last of her clothes into her suitcase before shutting it, and taking it downstairs. She was all packed and ready to go to the resort, and hopefully, it would provide a peaceful place to recover.

However, May was still skeptical about the whole thing. She still just wanted to just sit in her room and cry, but she was tired of making her family and friends sad. So, she decided to suck it up and make the most of the trip.

"Hey guys," May greeted the people waiting for her in the family room "when do we leave? I'm ready to go."

They all smiled at her enthusiasm, and felt relieved that she was still willing to go, and seemed to be her normal self again.

"Not too long May." Misty told the girl "Gary's pulling his car around as we speak, and the drive to the port is only about twenty minutes."

"Now we're all gonna go put our stuff in the car." Max picked up his bags "Mom and Dad will want to say goodbye."

"Okay, great!" May smiled.

She walked over to her mother and gave her a hug, and Caroline began to make sure that she was ready.

"Do you have everything you need honey? Do you have your pajamas and toothbrush?"

"Yes mom."

"Are you sure you have everything?"

"Seriously mom, I'm twenty years old! I can pack for myself." May groaned.

"Okay, okay," Caroline smiled "is it so wrong for me to worry about my baby?"

"I suppose not mom." May sighed. *honk honk* "Gary's here! I love you mom."

"I love you too honey." Caroline gave her one last hug "Goodbye, and be safe dear."

"Yes ma'am, I will."

"Thank you." Caroline took May's luggage as Norman walked up to her "Now let me take your bags to the car while you say goodbye to your father."

"Goodbye sweetie," the gym leader gave his daughter a hug "be good."

May giggled and hugged him back "Okay daddy."

*honk*

Norman rolled his eyes and let go of May "I think Gary wants you out there."

"Well, that's Gary." May told him "Always a little impatient."

"Then you'd better get going," Norman led her out of the house "we don't want to keep Gary waiting now do we?"

May laughed, then got into the car, sitting next to Dawn.

"Let's gooo!" Gary yelled as he gunned it, shooting the car away.

May barely had time to get a final goodbye to her parents. "Bye mom, bye dad! I love you guys!" May waved goodbye from the window of the car.

* * *

May watched the harbor get smaller and smaller as the ferry pulled away from Hoenn.

As she sat there, her thoughts wandered to her first and only love. She had already decided that she would force herself out of her depression, but she knew that she would never get over the man who stole her heart. He had always been there for her, and he had even saved her life multiple times. Looking back, she wondered how she hadn't realized her love for him earlier. From people mistaking them for a couple, or swimming together with a school of Luvdisc, the signs were everywhere, and May only wished that she had more time to have been together with Ash. He had impacted her life so much, but was taken from her before they had any real time to enjoy their relationship.

"Ash," May said, clutching the Terracotta ribbon over her chest, with a tear rolling down her cheek "I love you, now, and forever. I only hope you knew that I will forever be yours.

She stood there in silence for a few moments before someone interrupted her thoughts.

"May?" a voice from behind her said.

She quickly turned around and wiped the tear away. "Oh," She said quietly "it's just you Brock."

She turned back around and leaned on the railing, holding her head up with her arm.

Brock stood next to her and put an arm around her. "Listen, I know this will be hard for you. It's hard on all of us, especially Gary. In fact, he's holed up in his cabin right now, crying his eyes out. Dawn's trying to get to him, but he won't let her in."

"R-really?" May sniffed "But why?"

"Well, how long did we know Ash? I knew him for six, and you knew him for three, but Gary knew him for sixteen years. Even though they were rivals, they were inseparable friends. And, since they both lacked a parent, or parents in Gary's case, their friendship was extremely important to them. We both know that they have some separation issues."

May sniffed again in response.

"So don't feel alone May." Brock said "We all know what you're going through, and some have it almost as bad as you.

"I-I suppose so." May rubbed her eyes before starting inside "Thank you Brock, I needed some support. But now, I just need some sleep.

May made her way to her cabin after one last glance at the receding coastline.

Brock watched her go, then turned back to the sea, ready for some rest.

"Ash," Brock sighed before heading to his cabin to lie down "if only you were still here. This much pain May carries, shouldn't be carried by a girl her age. We still need you."

* * *

 **A/N- Well, that chapter was awful! It started and ended well, but the middle stuff was horrid. I'm good at writing the action parts, or parts with a lot of emotion, but I stink at writing ordinary conversations. Bleh. Sorry I'm so corny.**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- Well, I'm back! This chapter starts out with the continuation of chapter four, with Ash and Red.**

 **"speech" 'thought' '** _telepathy'_

 **That being said, please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter Six

"Hey you!"

Ash threw out Gallade, Lucario, and Glalie as Red and his Pokemon started in surprise.

"Glalie. Freeze 'em and you two cover the Espeon!"

Red scrambled for his poke balls while Espeon jumped up, but the sun Pokemon was shoved back down and knocked out with a nightslash from Gallade.

"Glalie!" Glalie shot a thin beam of ice at Red that froze him up to his neck.

"!" Red grunted as he felt his body go cold with the ice. He fumbled, and he dropped his poke balls when the ice encased his hands. As the ice worked it's way up to Red's chest, Ash recalled his Pokemon and slowly walked over to him from the shadows.

Red stared in shock "You?! Ho-" He quickly shut his mouth, remembering his usual method of silence.

Ash said nothing also, and made his way over to the man encased in ice, before asking barely above a whisper, "Why?"

Red gave him a look that said, not a chance, then wriggled in the ice, unable to move away from the man he kidnapped.

Ash sat down on a box in front of Red.

"Don't play dumb with me." Ash said quietly "You know exactly what I want. I want to know why you kidnapped me during the best moment of my life. Why you took me away from everyone, and everything that I love. Why you gave me to the worst scum on the planet!"

Red snorted, and turned his head as best he could. He decided a few words couldn't hurt "Let me go. Don't want me angry."

"Angry?!" Ash screamed, aura flaring about him "No! _You_ don't want to see _me_ angry!"

He threw a ball of aura into one of the computer screens, shattering it into a million pieces.

"Now tell me why!" Ash raged.

Red huffed, and shook his head.

Ash ran up to him and pulled his head back with his hair "Tell me, NOW!"

Once again, Red shook his head, infuriating Ash.

He threw a wild right hook into Red's jaw followed by a knee to the chin, enough to cause searing pain, but not enough to break anything.

Red spit out blood before looking up at Ash with a crazy grin.

"Now you've done it."

Red seemed to glow red for a second before the ice encasing him shattered, and Red jumped up with a roar.

Ash launched an aura sphere at him, only for Red to launch a red aura sphere back at it, tearing Ash's apart, causing him to duck out of the way.

"What the?" Ash was astonished. He had never met another human who could use aura besides Riley, and he was an aura guardian, with blue, not red, aura. "How do you know how to use aura?" Ash stammered out.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Red teased, insanity creeping into his voice "Now play nicely like a good little boy." Red then fired a series of red aura spheres, aiming to kill.

Ash managed to throw an aura shield up just in time before the red balls of aura hit, almost destroying his shield, but not stopping them from pounding the shield into Ash's body. He grunted in pain, then dissipated his shield with a flick of his wrist. He charged at Red with an aura imbued fist with a yell of anger. Red responded, and held his glowing arms in a protective X position in front of his chest, letting Ash smash into it. Ash stumbled back, holding his hand, as Red stood there, not even seeming bothered by the powerful attack. Ash yelled again, and this time, brought his hands up, forming a blue rapier made of aura. Red watched, and smiled as he created his own aura sword, but in the form of a long sword in place of a rapier. Ash charged Red and swung an overhead swipe aimed at Red's head. Red parried, and knocked him aside with a small aura sphere. Ash flew across the room, hitting the wall.

He groaned in pain, and mumbled in rage before getting up and deciding to go with a different approach. Thinking fast, Ash dissipated his sword, and dropped two objects on the floor before he started to run.

"So how are you so powerful anyway?" Ash yelled as he ran over to some stairs leading to small loft where electronic equipment was stored, attempting to distract the bloodthirsty man.

"Red aura has always been stronger than blue aura." Red stopped walking next to the Ash hole in the wall "It's just been mastered by a very small amount of people. Did your master teach you nothing?"

"I didn't have a master." Ash crouched behind some boxes "My Riolu taught me all I know."

"Riolu?" Red laughed "That explains why you're so weak!" He shot another sphere, hitting a crate near Ash. "If you had a proper master, you would be stronger, and be able to fight with red aura properly. I haven't even mastered it yet." He gave a little bow "If I had, at least I wouldn't have to waste my time with you." He mumbled before launched another, hitting just beside Ash. "I'm done messing around now."

' _Now guys, attack!'_ Ash ordered through his aura.

"What are you talki-?" Red was cut off as two lights flashed and two Pokemon materialized next to him.

Lucario and Gallade immediately sprang into action, Lucario wielding an aura bone rush, and Gallade using his sword like arms to attack Red. As Red battled with Ash's Pokemon, Ash himself quickly readied for the battle. He manifested two swords, one in each hand, before springing into battle beside his partners.

Red spun around, countering, slashing, and jabbing like a whirlwind, fighting for his life against his three assailants.

"Gahhhhh!" Red yelled as Ash slashed his upper arm. He roared in anger before pumping aura into his hands, and shooting a quick aura sphere that exploded, screening the room with a hazy smoke.

Ash and his Pokemon stumbled before falling down, coughing from the smoke. Ash and Lucario closed their eyes, sensing for Red without the use of their sight.

' _Something is wrong master._ ' Lucario told Ash ' _I sense nothing._ _He just… vanished.'_

"I agree Lucario." Ash stood up and picked up Gallade and Lucario's poke balls "He's gone. And it makes no sense. How could he have disappeared like that?"

 _'It must have been the Espeon, master.'_ Gallade reasoned _'It is highly likely that the Pokemon regained consciousness, and teleported the man away while we were distracted by the smoke.'_

"Must've been." Ash agreed "I can't think of another way he could've gotten away so quickly, without a trace." The young Team Rocket agent held up the poke balls "Oh well. Thanks for your help guys."

 _'It was nothing, master.'_ Gallade and Lucario bowed as they were sucked into their respective balls.

"Uuhhh." Ash stretched his back before limping his way out of the computer room. "They're gonna kill me for this."

* * *

"What were you thinking!" Domino ranted as she bandaged Ash's arm "You could've gotten yourself killed! How could you leave me out there by myself, while you went in to fight alone! You idiot!"

Ash had been "escorted" from the base by a livid Domino, who had insisted on treating him herself. They set up a temporary camp along the way when it became clear that Ash needed immediate medical attention

"Ow," Ash grunted as Domino applied the bandages a little harder than necessary "I don't know why you're so mad. It's not like either of us were alone. You had Pikachu and your Pokemon, and I had mine. How was I supposed to know that the guy would be a psychopath with aura abilities much more powerful than mine? Anyway, it turned out alright, didn't it? I'm fine after all."

"This is kinda funny." Meowth whispered to Pikachu "Who do you think did more damage, her or the crazy guy?"

"Pi!"

"Haha! I think so too."

"That's no excuse!" Domino stopped another part of Ash's arm from bleeding "I wish he had hurt you _more_! You deserve it you numb skull!"

"Wow, thanks Dom," Ash pouted "that really makes me feel better."

"Good!" She fumed, before sighing "I just want you to be safe, is all Ash. It's hard when you go off and pull the crazy stunts you do."

Ash ran a hand through his hair "I know Dom. I can't help the way I am. You know that I'm… changed.

You know why I'm so reckless."

"I know why," Domino put her hands on Ash's knees and looked him in the eyes "But I need you to stop. It's been five years Ash, you've got to move on. You have new friends now, and you have _me_ now. And _I_ don't know what I would do without _you_. So you need to stop with the recklessness. Please, for me."

Ash returned her look and gave a sigh before standing up "I'll try Dom."

He gave a mournful look before stumbling over to the woods, desperately wanting some time alone with his thoughts.

Domino watched him walk away before burying her head in her hands.

"Uhhhhhh. Why is he so stubborn Pikachu?"

Pikachu rubbed his head against her leg "Pika pi chu."

"I know that Pikachu." Domino patted his head "I was just hoping that, that he might open up to me. He really does mean a lot to me. I have… some kind of feelings for him."

"It's okay lady boss," Meowth told her "the boss really likes you too. Just give him time."

"I don't know Meowth." Domino told the scratch cat, while heading to her own tent "I just don't know anymore."

* * *

Ash walked along the trees, in deep thought over his past, and mostly, his present situation.

His past was still an extremely sore subject with Ash, one that still gave him the occasional nightmare.

Wrestling with these thoughts, Ash called out his longtime confidants, Gallade and Lucario.

They materialized out of the red poke ball beam, and were confronted with a familiar picture: Ash, alone in the woods, appearing distressed.

 _'Master,'_ Lucario said _'I sense that you are in dire need of comforting. While I am not fully capable of understanding the complexity of human emotions, I think that I am well versed enough to provide an excellent shiatsu style back rub and scalp massage that should ease your internal suffering. I will require the pelts of three Bidoof, the extract of a Tauros horn, and a Torchic beak. If you would just lie down on that fallen log over there and remove your shirt and jacket, I think that I can help your-'_

Lucario was interrupted, however, by a leaf blade to the face courtesy of Gallade.

' _I am sorry master,'_ Gallade bowed _'I know that my partner's bad jokes must cause you additional pain. They certainly always cause me pain.'_

"Don't worry about it Gallade." Ash helped Lucario up "I know that this is just his way of trying to cheer me up."

' _I know master,'_ Gallade said ' _that what you need now most, is someone who will listen to you.'_

"Thank you Gallade," Ash sat down on the fallen log "and you too Lucario. I know that you both just want to help, but I really just need to be alone for now. I need some time to think about what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna think about how we're going to escape from Team Rocket."

Both Gallade and Lucario jumped in surprise.

' _Escape!?'_ They psychically yelled together.

' _How can we escape without our friends being hurt?'_ Lucario asked Ash ' _Team Rocket still has them locked up in the main HQ.'_

" _That's_ what I'm trying to figure out guys." Ash sighed "I don't really know how we're going to be able to do it without anyone getting hurt."

' _It is okay master,'_ Lucario comforted Ash _'we know that you will come up with a plan good enough to get everyone back safely. We do not like Team Rocket anymore than you do.'_

"I'll try you guys." Ash stood up and pulled out their poke balls "But I really do want to be alone right now. Thanks for trying though."

Lucario and Gallade bowed in sync before the poke ball beam sucked them into their respective balls.

"Man," Ash rubbed his face "this is a real mess."

Ash laid back and looked up at the stars.

"I just hope that May's okay."

* * *

Meanwhile, a few miles from the destroyed Galactic base...

"Uhh." Red groaned as he stirred from his unconsciousness. "What happened?"

' _I teleported you here.'_ Espeon rubbed her head against his cheek ' _You know that you aren't supposed to use your aura ever again. You know very well that it could hurt you, and others around you. Luckily, I woke up in time to get us out of there before you killed Ash's team or was killed by them. You need to fight the aura, not give into it.'_

"I know Vee." Red sat up, clearly in pain and exhausted "I don't know what did it. I think seeing Ash, and the guilt and anger, the latter made worse by him hitting me, was just too much to handle. I don't know what I'm going to do. I might just have to end it all once I take down Team Rocket. After all, no aura guardian would willingly supply half his aura to a red aura user. They hate us too much."

 _'There's no room for such talk,' Espeon informed her master 'I won't have another dying on us. Not after Blast died. We'll get through this.'_

"I hope so Vee" Red sighed.

* * *

 **A/N- Well, sorry it's short, but I'm having a little writer's block as I said earlier. To keep this short, I don't know when the next update will be because, unfortunately, school starts tomorrow. However, there will be one once or twice a month.**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello again everybody!  
I've got some great news! I now have a beta reader, Flamewing98! Since he is proof reading all of my stories, they will be better written now. After just the first time, he picked out plenty of grammatical mistakes and awkward wording and even a small plot hole. Thanks to his watchful eye and helpful suggestions, I was able to fix my mistakes, making the story be a little more smooth.  
Enough yammering, please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter Seven

"Yay, we're finally here!" Dawn happily sung out as she skipped off the magnet train and officially into Rota "That trip took forever."

"Dawn, wait up!" Gary panted as he struggled to carry all of her luggage down to her "This stuff is really heavy. And there's so much of it!" He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance and placed all of her stuff next to her.

"Oh don't whine, Gary." Misty scolded the crushed man after leaving the train too "Even Brock's not. Here, watch him take it like a man."

True to her word, Brock appeared a moment later, carrying an equal amount of luggage with ease, and doing so without complaining. Max walked out behind him in awe. He calmly and carefully made his way off the train, and placed the pile of suitcases down next to Misty, then kissed her hand.

"My lady, I am ever at your service."

"H-how Brock?" Gary gasped as he managed to crawl into a sitting position "How do you do it? You don't even date her."

"Easy my boy." Brock smirked "Practice. It gets easier after being dragged across the four regions and being forced to carry different women's shopping bags for hours on end."

"And I thought I was the master." Gary got on his knees and bowed to him "Truly, I am humbled. My only wish, is to be taught your ways, O wise one. I will spend the rest of my days devoted to learning from your teachings."

"And I, am willing to teach, young one. Arise, and be safe in the knowledge that you shall

be enlightened." Brock nodded his head sagely.

Dawn sighed at the ridiculous antics of her friend and boyfriend "Oh please." Dawn yanked Gary up off the ground "I swear, you guys need to stop being so dramatic. I'll bet you don't even realize how stupid you two look. And Gary, we definitely don't need another Brock."

"No!" Gary wept "Now I will never become wise in the master's ways!"

"Okay, I've had enough." Misty took out her trusty mallet and smashed them both over the head.

"It turns out," Brock cried in a mixture of pain and sadness "that I am not as wise as I thought!"

Misty and Dawn rolled their eyes as the fifth and final present member of the gang exited the train. May just sighed at the unusual sight, embarrassed by her friends.

"Good grief you guys, I can't take you anywhere."

"It doesn't really matter, May," Misty told her "seeing as how we get to spend a whole month just relaxing and playing with cute Pokemon!"

"True Misty, true." Dawn linked arms with her two best friends "Now let's go. The boys can handle our bags."

The girls walked off, ignoring the groans of protest coming from behind them.

A flock of Pidgey took of after a small Marill that wandered into their wake, and the girls walked along the streets, admiring the medieval scenery.

Rota was really a beautiful sight. It was a small town, and not too crowded either, with a large bridge connecting the castle town the mainland. The buildings gave off a homey, earthy feel to them, making the town feel like a peaceful part of nature. There were no skyscrapers or buildings that were too much taller than the rest making the town look less like a city. This made it feel and look less crowded. Outdoor cafes and small shops were common, with Pokemon scampering about and flora present in every aspect of life. They could be seen everywhere, whether it be at home, workplace, or roadsides.

The castle city was simple enough. It contained a small market and enough stores to make a venture out to the mainland unnecessary for the most part, but it obviously had less room in it. The residents liked to walk across the bridge and explore around the mainland every once and awhile to keep a sense of belonging with the other part of it.

However, the two main sections of the area, were even better. Even though people couldn't get inside the Tree of Beginning, it was a beautiful sight in the morning as the sun rose over it in the east. The second main attraction, which was quickly becoming world renowned, the brand new Royal Aura Resort. Named after the area's well known affiliation with the ancient legend, the hotel had many attractions that blended in with the look of the town to appease the citizens. It had a location on the beach along the lake reserved for customers, a massive library/computer room, and most famously, hundreds of different Pokemon to play with. From Buneary to Gyrados, the RA Resort has most known Pokemon for customers to enjoy time with, and everyone loved Pokemon.

Though for all of it's wondrous scenes now, Rota wasn't always as nice. Centuries ago, Abigar, leader of the red auras, and his legions of red aura users attempted to wrest Rota, the heart of the Aura Guardian's, from them. They had conquered the Pewter, Celadon, and Cerulean territories in the attempt of cutting them off from any outside members of the Guardians. The leader of the Guardians, Brigadier Jarrek, massed Guardian forces at Cameron Palace, their main headquarters. The red aura users assaulted the castle with legions of men over twice as large as the Guardians. The death count was staggering, most of the casualties occurring to the Guardians, whose size dropped to not even a quarter of their original number. Sir Aaron, the Lieutenant Commander, seeing the destruction brought upon his order, was unable to continue his mission of guarding the queen, and raced off to the Tree of Beginning to beg the legendary Pokemon Mew to help save his kin. Unfortunately for the young guardian of aura, Abigar had followed him along with his most powerful warriors, and attacked him and Mew. They were barely able to fend them off, eventually sealing themselves in the inner chamber of the tree, while Abigar and his warriors tried to force their way in. Before they could, Mew came up with a solution. He told Aaron that the only way to save his kin was for the young Guardian to supply him with all of his aura, so he could regain his power for a short moment, allowing him to stop the fighting. Aaron readily agreed, and used himself as a sacrifice to save hundreds of lives as Abigar and his men burst into the room. As Aaron died, Mew used his power to seal Abigar and his men away into the Reverse World, where Giratina watches over them today, and to influence the warring aura users minds, convincing themselves that they don't need to fight anymore. The red aura users quickly retreated, and they left Rota, and the territories they had occupied, to leave for their home in Orre. Arceus was displeased with them for attacking what he considered sacred ground, and along the way, he to called upon Rayquaza to create a massive storm at sea, killing most of the red aura users as well.

Both factions of aura users were low in numbers, and oppression from a world who now feared the use of aura made it so neither of their number would ever reach as high as it was. The remaining Aura Guardians were banished from Rota and they were forced to occupy an abandoned Sinnoan military outpost on Iron Island. There, they were able to set up their own relatively thriving, although secluded, community, where they were able to survive. Their enemies, however, were not as lucky.

The red aura users made it back to Orre, where they learned that the people had already been warned of the danger they posed. The people of Orre were already a paranoid and suspicious people, so they feared the aura users immensely. They immediately created a type of unwritten rule, one where they would kill any aura user on site. Forced to live a nomadic life in the desert, the red aura users couldn't regain the numbers they once held either.

Both sides of the aura couldn't thrive like they once had, and lived in anonymity for a thousand years until modern days, where users found that the world had all but forgotten about them, and their powers were only myth. Some members were able to infiltrate society and stay hidden, where some still reside.

Ironically, the citizens of Rota have an interesting custom. Even though the fear of aura was prevalent among the populace, Queen Rin recognized Sir Aaron's sacrifice and created an event to honor him, which she dubbed the Tournament of Aura. Sir Aaron passed into local legend as the savior of Rota.

At first, it was just an annual ball. As the years passed, it evolved from just a ball to a Pokemon tournament followed by the celebratory ball. The champion of the tournament would be named the "True Guardian of Aura". The name was chosen by someone who was secretly an Aura Guardian to help dilute negative feelings towards aura. his ploy worked, and the hatred of aura users slowly began to lose it's hold in Kanto, but only Kanto. Since the other regions lacked an aura themed celebration, they remained hostile towards aura users, even though the hostility laid in a small percentage of people who still believed the legends.

However, the Aura Guardian's still couldn't show themselves for fear of the other regions, and the red aura users couldn't get out a large group of users out of Orre because they would be killed by the locals. They remained to live in anonymity.

* * *

"Hello, and welcome to the Royal Aura Resort! My name is Rachel, how may I help you?"

"Hello. We're here to check in, ma'am" Misty said as she, May, Max, and Dawn walked through the automatic doors revealing the luxurious interior of the hotel lobby.

"Very good. What name is the reservation under?" The receptionist asked.

"Waterflower."

"Okay," She typed the name into her computer "However, it says here that the reservation is for five people."

"Oh, well, the other two are bringing our luggage." Dawn giggled "They'll be here any time now, and we have all the tickets with us."

"Thank you." Rachel took the tickets from Dawn and scanned them "Alright then, here are your keys. They will remain functional for the one month that you are allowed here. If you want to stay longer, you will need to fill out an expense form. For future reference, they are located at this desk. Thank you and have a great stay!"

The girls thanked her before going off to find the lost Brock and Gary. After walking around for about ten minutes, they started to get annoyed.

"Where the heck are they!?" Misty exclaimed "Leave them alone for a little bit and they take off like a couple of Poochyena off their leash!"

"Calm down, Misty," May attempted to calm down the redhead "I'm sure they have a perfectly good explanation."

"Yeah Misty," Dawn added, trying to help May "I'm sure they're just lost or something."

"Hmm… I guess so." Misty puffed as she continued searching the route

"Augh!"

A cry of pain sounded from one of the alleys, followed by a soft crash.

"What was that?" May questioned timidly.

"Hey," Dawn shouted before taking off in the direction of the sound "that sounded like Gary!"

"Dawn, get back here!" Misty yelled before running after her.

"Guys!" May was worried now. She didn't know whether or not to go after her friends. However, after she heard another cry of pain, she decided to risk it and try and help.

Dawn was first to the alley, followed closely by Misty, then May. In the alley, Gary was lying on the ground with the suitcases scattered on the ground behind him. Dawn ran over to him and helped him up.

"Gary! What on earth happened to you?!"

"Ugh, I'm fine," Gary coughed "a Team Rocket grunt tried to steal my Pokemon from me, and when he realized that I don't have any on me, he was going to kill me before Brock intervened and chased him off. As far as I know, Brock could still be on the guy somewhere."

The girls gasped in fear. There was a Team rocket grunt on the loose? May especially was scared, and she clung onto Misty's arm for comfort.

"How do you know that he was part of Team Rocket?" May asked.

Gary brushed his pants off "When he attacked me, his coat opened a bit and I could see the red R on his shirt. Only Team Rocket Grunts wear that R."

Just then, Brock ran back from the other end of the alley, panting heavily.

"Gary!" He yelled as he ran over to the young man "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me," Gary waved off his concern "Did you get him?"

"No, I couldn't catch him, but if you're okay, we can go and find him and turn him into the police."

"Go after him?" Dawn and May exclaimed in unison.

"What are you thinking?"

"You could get hurt!"

"But if we don't go after him now, he could hurt other people." Brock explained.

"Yeah," Gary added "We need to do this to protect others."

However the girls were still apprehensive. After some thought, Misty gave her opinion "You guys are being hasty. You have no real reason to go after this guy, other than you just want to protect others. While I understand, it's a job for the police. Let's just go find an Officer Jenny and you can give her a description."

Gary and Brock sighed. She was right.

"Fine," Brock said "let's go find a Jenny. I don't know why I didn't think of it in the first place. She's gorgeous."

"Sure." Gary gave Dawn a hug "Whatever you want baby."

He pulled her in for a kiss, earning a groan from Misty.

"Come on guys, stay focused. It's bad enough I have to keep Brock in check."

Gary and Dawn just laughed, and they all went off to find a Jenny.

* * *

The grunt, whose name was Clive, was trying to make his way through the crowd undetected. He hung his head low, and looked at the ground.

He knew that he had just made a huge mistake. The boss had given explicit orders to leave the guests alone, and he had just attacked and threatened Gary Oak. He had gotten caught up in the heat of the moment when he saw him and, expecting the young Pokemon professor to have rare Pokemon on his person, jumped him while he was taking a shortcut through an alley, trying to move the suitcases faster. Unfortunately, he had no Pokemon on him, so he panicked, and in his haste, he tried to kill him. But before he could, a strange man ran towards him, releasing a strong looking Sudowoodo, and scared him off. He ran away, but the man pursued, still looking extremely angry. He finally was able to lose him in a crowd at the marketplace.

He made his way through the mass of people and turned around once he was absolutely certain that he wasn't being followed. He walked through the town, and eventually came to the Royal Aura Resort. Going into the main lobby, he first walked over to pair of security guards standing by a door marked, 'employees only'.

The guards, recognizing him, as they were required to know all of the stationed grunts by name and face, allowed him to pass. Taking this as a sign that nobody knew about his incident with Oak, he heaved a sigh of relief, then entered.

He went through the doorway, and walked down the stairwell with a long concrete hallway inside. At the end was another door, without guards, but had a thumbprint scanner instead.

He scanned his thumb and opened the door, which led to some sort of lounge.

What made it odd was the fact that it was it was filled with Team Rocket grunts bearing AR-15's and assortments of knives. This was a dangerous combination with the alcohol that seemed to be flowing like a river.

However, no one got too violent, as fear of Giovanni's new "security guards" had everyone on edge. Giovanni brought them in suddenly for the resort, and on their first day, they killed eighteen grunts. The reason? They weren't productive enough. It didn't help that none of the executives bashed an eyelash about it.

So, obviously, there were lots of rumors floating around about them, creating a feeling of distrust among the Team Rocket members. Though no one wanted to ask any questions for fear of being disposed of themselves.

Clive spotted one of his drinking buddies sitting at a table, and walked over to him.

"Hey Alex," Clive pulled out a seat and sat down "what's new?"

Alex took a drag on his cigarette before answering "Nothing much. Proton wants us to move more shipments tomorrow before the Galactics can. Rotten little punks should stay in Sinnoh where they belong."

"I know," Clive took his cigarette and took a puff to calm his nerves before handing it back to avoid a dispute "they make so much work for us. I joined Team Rocket to steal Pokemon, not move crates."

"What're ya gonna do?" Alex asked "Best to just keep a low profile and do what you're told. Especially with these new guards Giovanni has."

"Tell me about it. I heard they're Orrean mercenaries or something. I hate Orreans. They creep me out."

"I heard that they're not technically Orreans. Steele told me that they were nomads, no actual Orre citizens."

"Either way," Clive stood up "I hope the boss gets rid of them soon. I'm gonna go get a beer. Be back in a sec."

Alex gave a halfhearted wave as he took another drag as his eyes started to glaze over from the mix of nicotine and large amount of alcohol he consumed.

Clive walked over to the bar.

"Hey, gimme a beer, now." He demanded.

"Yeah yeah." The bartender responded "Just gimme your name."

"Clive Armonni."

"Clive, huh? Just gimme a sec." The bartender went in the back.

Clive grumbled at this "I don't have a sec. Just get me my beer."

As he waited, he started to get an uneasy feeling. He should've known that he couldn't get away with ignoring the boss's orders. "What's taking so long?" He fussed, trying to squash the feeling. However, the feeling was intensified as one of the guards seemed to listen to his earpiece before making his way over to him.

"Clive Armonni?" The guard had a deep, menacing voice.

"Y-yeah. What's it to ya?"

"Proton would like to see you. You will come with me."

Clive was visibly sweating now, but he had no choice as he followed the guard across the lounge, into another hallway, and through a small security gate.

"Please remove all of your weapons before entering the office." The guard told him.

Trembling, he removed his sidearm and knife and placed them in a basket in front of the stationed guard.

"Enter." The guard told him.

Clive was about ready to pass out with fear. The punishments for disobeying orders could range to anything from extra work without pay, flogging, or even death. And it didn't help that Proton was known to punish just for the sadistic fun of it.

He went through the office door, stopped, and saluted in front of the desk in the middle of the room.

Giovanni wheeled around in the chair, causing Clive to actually gasp in surprise. His fear rose to new heights as his imagination went into overdrive.

"G-Giovanni sir," He managed to stutter out "what are you doing here?"

Giovanni gave him a smile "Overseeing my greatest triumph. After all, if you want something done right, do it yourself."

Clive, who didn't let himself say anything else for fear of angering the head boss, nodded.

"Now, you might wonder why I asked you here. You see, I have a fairly large group of Rocket members in the resort. One of them happened to see you following a Mr. Gary Oak into an alley, then watched you attack him. Is this true?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes sir." He mumbled begrudgingly. There was no point in lying. It would make the punishment so much worse.

"Well. I thought I said that I wanted no one to hassle any of the guests at any point or time, period. Why did you not listen to my very simple instruction? I didn't want to make any of the guests think that there was a Team Rocket presence, but you have made that difficult. Luckily, I have a solution that we both should agree to."

This didn't sound good to Clive, and a thin bead of sweat appeared on his forehead "Wha-what is it?"

"You will give yourself into police custody and tell them that you found that uniform abandoned in an alley, which they will believe because there have been no previous cells of Team Rocket confirmed yet, so they'll think that it was a deserting grunt or something like that. And I, in return, will not kill you."

"Deal!" Clive hastily agreed. He thought for sure that Giovanni's appearance would mean certain doom for him, so he took the opportunity to live immediately.

"Very good." Giovanni smiled "And for the record, if you try to run, just know that there's no place you can hide where my new guards can't find you."

Clive gulped "Y-yes sir! I'll leave immediately sir."

"Good, now get out of my sight!"

Clive scrambled out of the room on his way to the police station. There was no way he was going to disobey this order.

* * *

"Yes Officer Jenny, I'm sure it was Team Rocket," Gary told the skeptical officer "would I tell you if I weren't sure?"

Jenny was indeed skeptical. After all, there hadn't ever been any real sightings of Team Rocket in a while, and almost never in Rota.

"I guess not Mr. Oak." She said "since you _are_ Professor Oak's grandson, I suppose I'll have to trust you."

Gary, Brock, Misty, May, Max, and Dawn had found the nearest police station, and Gary and Brock were describing the criminal to a Jenny.

"It was near the Royal Aura Resort," Brock added "I chased him, but I lost him near the marketplace."

"Alright," Jenny picked up her radio "I'll put out an APB out on this man, and hopefully we can find him soon. Thank you for your cooperation."

Jenny stood up and grabbed her gear before heading towards the exit. Before she left, a man matching the description walked in.

"That's the man who attacked me, Officer Jenny!" Gary yelled.

Jenny pulled out her 9mm Sig, and pointed it at him.

"Sir, don't move!"

He looked at her and stopped moving.

"Get on the ground and put your hands on your head!"

He complied, and laid down putting his hands on the back of his head. Jenny pointed to another officer, who cuffed him while Jenny kept him at gunpoint to make sure he didn't attack the arresting officer. He stood him up, and moved him to a holding cell while reading him his rights.

Clive however, was not completely silent "That was kinda unnecessary. I came here to turn myself in."

Jenny was baffled. Criminals usually don't just offer themselves to the law.

"But, why?"

"Because I feel awful. I was desperate, and I thought that he might have some Pokemon that I could sell on the black market. But I panicked and tried to kill him, which I feel horrible about. I figured that it would be best if I just turned myself in."

Gary was not going to let it go that easily "Well then why do you have a Team Rocket uniform underneath your coat?"

Clive took off his coat to show the uniform "I found this during the winter when I was searching for somewhere warm to stay while it got cold out. This uniform saved my life, so I got attached to it."

Everyone sighed in relief. It seemed that there really wasn't a Team Rocket presence after all.

"While that's all well and good," Officer Jenny stated "your still under arrest for the attempted murder and robbery of Gary Oak."

"I know, and I admit to it, and I'm gonna plead guilty in court. I just want to pay for my crimes. I deserve it."

Jenny shook her head in wonder at the rare scene before turning back to Gary and co.

"Well, it looks like this is all wrapped up. Why don't you all go enjoy your vacation now?"

Max pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as they shone with light "He must have been scared of us. We're the best!"

"Excellent idea," Brock piped up, ignoring Max and trying to help with the tension everyone (mostly May) was feeling "come on, we still need to move all of these suitcases anyway."

"Okay." Gary reluctantly agreed. He thought that there was more to it than that, but he didn't want to ruin May's time. He wanted to help her, for Ash. "Let's all go and try and enjoy ourselves. We still have the month to relax."

Everyone chorused in agreement, and they made their way back to the resort to enjoy a well deserved vacation.

* * *

 **A/N: This one was almost twice as long as the last one!**

 **Now, I just feel like saying that I've really got the plot in my head now. I started this story without a clear plot in mind, kind of a see where it takes me deal.**

 **This should help some with my writers block, so the next chapter might be a little earlier than this one.**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN- Presenting chapter eight! Hey, I technically made my deadline of one per month!**

" **Speech" 'thoughts' '** _telepathy'_

 **Thanks to my beta reader, Flamewing98!**

 **Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter Eight

As the sun rose, the first light hit Ash, waking him up. He yawned and sat up before getting out of his tent. After he was fully awake, he got ready then performed his daily exercises of running, push ups, and sit ups with Pikachu and Lucario, then worked on his aura with Lucario. He pushed himself even harder than normal because of his encounter with Red several weeks ago. Ash didn't want to be beaten again. After he finished, he let the rest of his Pokemon out to work out with him. Everyone knew the works, and they all sparred for awhile before going off into their respective teams to work on their specialties. Ash watched over all of them, occasionally giving advice or correcting form. As he did this, he mentally and visually assessed all of his Pokemon.

One was a massive Pokemon, who was asleep more than he was awake, and was a part of Ash's main powerhouse squad, being fast and enormously powerful. Snorlax loved to eat, and he was the only one Ash was worried about who would have trouble surviving on low rations. His partner was Aggron, another huge Pokemon, who was relatively new to the team. Aggron, back then an Aron, was the first Pokemon Ash caught after he joined Team Rocket, saving him from a forest fire. Aron wanted to repay the debt he owed Ash, so he and stayed with him, vowing to become stronger.

Next was Ash's main mode of transportation, a huge, orange, dragon-like, lizard. His Charizard had gotten him out of a pinch more than once, and while he was a powerhouse, he was in Ash's transport squad for his flight. The second squad member, was Blastoise. Ash saw the potential in Squirtle for amphibious movement and combat, and Squirtle had the drive to reach Ash's expectations, evolving twice to become a Blastoise.

The third group was comprised of two of some of Ash's fastest Pokemon, Pikachu and Sceptile. Both were powerful in their own right, but their main strength was speed. Their speed allowed them to be excellent scouts, allowing them to cover great distances quickly; they also could perform powerful hit and run maneuvers, creating confusion and discord among enemies.

He walked over to the newest member of his team, only having caught him five months ago, who was sparring with his partner. This one's role was being the second of Ash's hand to hand combat specialist trio, Ash being the first. It's main characteristics were it's green, sword-like arms, and sense of honor. Ash caught Gallade through a duel. Gallade was intrigued by him, and challenged one of his Pokemon to a fight, and Ash accepted. However, he chose to fight Gallade himself. After Ash knocked him out, he caught Gallade because of his impressive abilities. Gallade was an excellent fighter, proving every time he sparred or fought that he belonged on the team. The third member was on almost on par with Ash's skills, though more combat than aura. After all, he did teach him most of them. Ash's Riolu evolved fairly quickly after being given to him, because Ash treated him with kindness he didn't know previously. While Lucario knew a powerful long ranged move or two, his expertise was hand to hand combat. He preferred using his bare paws or his aura staff, while his aura allowed him to react quickly to his enemy's movements with split second precision.

The final team was Ash's most diverse, which specialized in espionage, surveillance, covert combat, and sabotage. First up was Gengar. Ash caught Gengar when he was had the idea for this team. He traveled to the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town to catch a ghost type Pokemon. When he arrived, Gengar sneaked up on Ash and tried to steal his hat. However, Ash's aura let him see the Shadow Pokemon and avoid him. Gengar was impressed with this mortal's skill, and chose to join him to make things more interesting. Gengar's ability to become unseen was next to none, and allowed him to conduct his missions remaining undetected by anyone with ease. The second member was Ninjask. Ash stole Ninjask from a trainer along with the rest of the kid's Pokemon. When Ash turned them into Team Rocket, he gave Ninjask a choice. He could either join Ash or go to Team Rocket. Reluctantly Ninjask agreed to join Ash, and was rebellious for a time. But Ash's love, though not always spoken, won Ninjask over, and he became loyal to Ash. Ninjask was arguably the fastest of all of Ash's Pokemon, but what led Ash to make him a spy rather than a scout was his silence With some training from Ash, he was able to overcome his species tendency to cry out all the time, making him silent. His silence coupled with his staggering speed made him able to move so quickly and quietly, and he was basically invisible. These two could gather intelligence on anyone, or anything.

The last two of Ash's Pokemon were specialists, but didn't belong to a group. One was Glalie. Domino had given Ash extensive training in a snow environment, so Ash needed a Pokemon who could survive the cold, and Glalie was the perfect candidate, his multiple talents being: power, speed, the ability to survive the cold, and the ability to almost disappear in the snow.

The other was Meowth, whose specialty was anything electronic, mechanical, or robotic. He was also a powerful fighter, like the rest of Ash's Pokemon, and was a kind of an adviser to Ash in tactics and strategy.

After an hour of more work, Ash called all of his Pokemon together.

"Okay guys, good work. Time to eat." None of his Pokemon moved. "Did you guys hear me? I said it's time to eat." The Pokemon chattered before Lucario stepped forward.

' _Master, we have a few questions first.'_

"Um, okay." Ash was hesitant. When his Pokemon got like this, it was serious. "Shoot."

' _What are you planning? You did not seem to be especially happy yesterday.'_

Ash stiffened "I can't keep anything from you guys, can I?"

His Pokemon responded with roars of agreement.

"Fine." Ash hesitated for a moment "I'm trying to think how to escape from Team Rocket."

Once again, his Pokemon roared, but this time in protest.

"Yes, I remember that they have the rest of us prisoner." Ash reassured them "I meant that I'm trying to think of a way to save everyone and then escape Team Rocket."

 _'How do you plan on doing so, Master?'_ Gallade asked.

"I have an idea, but it will take awhile." Ash looked around "And don't tell Domino until I deem it safe. It's not that I don't trust her, but I don't want to take any chances when my Pokemon's lives depend on it, understand?"

His Pokemon all nodded.

"Good. Now obviously, we can't do this by ourselves. The problem is, there aren't exactly a plethora of people that we can call on anymore. My main focus is taking out Giovanni, but that will obviously take a long, long time to pull off by ourselves. So, any ideas, guys?"

No one said anything, and was beginning to get a little discouraged.

Meowth shot up "Oh! I got an idea, Boss!"

* * *

A hooded figure walked down the dusty streets of Pyrite Town, keeping his head down. As he walked along, he received multiple looks from various gangsters and thugs, but none gave him trouble. He didn't look like someone they wanted to mess with.

He made his way into the Pokemon Center and over to the counter.

"May I help you, sir?" the Nurse Joy asked.

A short nod was his answer, and he quickly pulled out some poke balls and placed them on the counter.

"They'll be ready shortly, sir." Joy pressed a button and a Chansey rolled a cart over and took them up as the man turned around and left.

He walked the streets while waiting until he heard a strange sound. Curious, he followed it to the source. It was coming from a rooftop above an alley, where he saw another hooded figure flanked by a Gallade and Lucario with a Pikachu on one shoulder and Meowth on the other holding a man over the edge by his legs.

"This is your last chance," Ash growled "tell me where to find Mewtwo."

"I-I don't know, I swear!" the dangling man shouted.

Ash kicked him hard in the back "You don't want to lie to me. I know for a fact that you Galactic scum have him. I read it in a file in the base twenty klicks west of here, right after I killed everyone. Just tell me where he is, and I won't have to kill you too."

He loosened his grip on his legs.

The grunt's face contorted in fear "Alright, alright, just put me down you Magma psycho!"

"Good choice." Ash heaved up, and threw him back up onto the roof.

Down below, the man ran up to the fire escape and climbed up, intent on watching. He barely lifted his head up so he could see.

The Galactic grunt hastily pulled out a scrap of paper and a pencil and wrote something down.

"Here, this is where the base holding it is located. P-please let me go."

Ash took the paper and looked at the grunt with a thoughtful look. "Under the Coliseum, huh? Hmmm..."

He sighed "Unfortunately, I don't think I can afford the chance that you go back to your little friends, can I?" Lucario and Gallade

The man gasped "No! I won't tell anyone at all! Nobody, I swear it!"

Ash sighed again "Look, it's nothing personal, I just can't have you telling anyone."

"No really; may I get hit by a Tauros if I'm lying!"

"Well," Ash raised his hand and looked him straight in the eyes "fine. But if I see you even near Pyrite again, I _will_ kill you, no questions asked, no hesitation. Do you understand?"

The man nodded furiously.

"Good. Now get out of my sight before I think I've made a mistake."

The man gushed something about how his family thanks him before taking off into the stairwell.

"Idiot." Ash grumbled before heading down himself, Pokemon closely behind.

'The coliseum...' the hooded man though before climbing down the fire escape and running back to the Poke Center.

* * *

"Hey, how much ya wanna bet that this guy falls off of his Dragonite, and into the pit of Arbok?" a very bored Galactic grunt watching Pokemon videos on his phone asked his fellow guard.

The other guy looked at the video. "I'll bet twenty bucks he doesn't fall off."

"Deal."

The guy on the Dragonite fell off and the guard who won laughed. "You owe me twenty bucks, loser."

"Yeah, yeah." the grunt took out two tens and handed them to him "There."

The guard smirked, and as he was about to grab it, was smashed in the chest with an aura sphere.

The living grunt jumped up "Holy-" he was cut off by a scratch attack.

Ash jumped down from a big crate "No one ever has competent guards."

He ran past the bodies and into the coliseum. "Do you see the entrance guys?"

"No/Pika."

"Alright, gimme a sec." Ash closed his eyes and raised his hand, then pointed it at the corner once he sensed a large group of life forms, and one that seemed more powerful than the rest "Okay, it's over there, let's go."

Ash ran to the a wall and searched for a moment; he tore down a poster and pressed the button in the wall behind it. A hidden door built into a massive column opened up, and Ash headed down it.

The guards and receptionist in the front room looked at Ash and immediately pulled out their weapons. Before they fired, Ash threw up an aura shield, and Pikachu and Meowth ran around the room and killed the three grunts before they had a chance to radio for backup.

Meowth jumped on the receptionist's desk and started typing on the computer "This place is huge! It says here that Mewtwo is here direction, but that's it. Can you find him yourself?"

"I'm glad I have aura." Ash remarked as used his aura to sense where the power he felt a moment earlier was emanating from. It was clearly coming from an enormously powerful Pokemon, located roughly a couple hundred feet to his left "He's over there." He pointed to the left doorway.

"I'm gonna need some extra firepower to steamroll through this quickly, aren't I Meowth?" Ash questioned as he pulled a set of two poke balls off of his belt.

"You betcha, Boss." Meowth agreed as he unsheathed his claws.

"Let's roll you guys!" Ash threw out the balls, releasing his go-to power duo, Snorlax and Aggron "Clear a path, would you?"

Snorlax nodded and charged up a hyper beam before destroying the door in their way. Aggron, the more violent of the two, gave a wicked smile before running in with cover from Ash and Snorlax. That was their go-to strategy; Aggron's defense made him the perfect shield to soak up punishment while Ash and Snorlax blasted enemies with their long ranged attacks. Aggron charged through the halls, killing any grunts he saw with hyper beams, flamethrowers, thunderbolts, and dragon claws. Ash and Snorlax acted as support, Ash using his aura while Snorlax used thunderbolts, shadow balls, and body slams. A grunt jumped out after they had passed him and aimed his rifle at Ash. But before he could shoot, he was hit by an iron tail on the back. As the grunt fell, his Croagunk spun around, letting loose purple gunk. Pikachu jumped up to dodge the sludge bomb, then hit him with a flash, momentarily blinding him. As Croagunk stumbled back, rubbing his eyes, Pikachu used his downward falling force to boost his volt tackle, knocking out the Croagunk. He gave both of the body a shock to be safe and continued behind the rest. There weren't too many grunts, only about thirteen spread out through the hallways. Finally, they stopped at a heavily reinforced door and Ash could sense the amount of aura emanating from behind it.

"Alright guys," He panted "Mewtwo should be right behind there. Use brick break!"

His team's hands glowed brightly before they smashed it into the door. They gave it a deep dent, but the door still stood.

"Again!"

The door couldn't take another beating, and it flew off and crashed into the room. Ash and his Pokemon went in, and were greeted by the sight of Mewtwo in plasma bindings in a huge room that seemed to revolve around the pedestal he was elevated on; he was surrounded by experiment stations and computers. Unfortunately for Mewtwo, the plasma was self sustaining, created by a strong psychic Pokemon of some sort, and was held together with an alloy bonded with the plasma. If Mewtwo tried to move them or destroy them they only intensified their hold on him; a very painful experience.

Ash ran over to Mewtwo and tried to wake him up.

"Mewtwo! Come on!" he looked at the plasma "Meowth, see if you can find the controls for these!"

Meowth scampered off, and Ash tried to communicate with the Genetic Pokemon with his aura.

' _Mewtwo, wake up!'_

Mewtwo stirred a little.

"Boss, I found it!" Meowth waved his paw to show Ash where he was "Gimme a sec!"

' _No,'_ Mewtwo groaned as he started to regain consciousness ' _don't…'_

"Got it!" The plasma opened up and Mewtwo fell into Ash's arms.

"Are you okay?" Ash laid him down against a wall.

' _Ash, you've got… to get out of here.'_ Mewtwo said.

"I know, we're about to leave now."

' _No!'_ Mewtwo weakly shoved Ash away from him ' _Leave me!'_

"Why would I do that?" Ash asked "We came here to rescue you, we need your help."

' _You, don't understand.'_ Mewtwo tried to shout _'It's a trap!'_

Suddenly, a torrent of grunts and Pokemon poured into the room, quickly outnumbering and surrounding Ash and his team. Soon, a large number of grunts had Ash in Pokemon and gun point

A thin man with darkish blue hair stepped forward "Magma scum! Surrender yourself and your Pokemon, and you nor them will have to be killed."

Ash looked at him in anger. He couldn't believe he had gotten caught in a trap by Team Galactic of all people. They were lucky that Ash had been too distracted by the amount of power Mewtwo gave off to notice all of the auras in one place.

He stood up slowly, raising his hands, mind racing trying to think of a way out of this mess.

"Recall your Pokemon, now!" The man barked.

Ash growled in anger and frustration before complying. He would be able to take down a lot of them, but there was no way he could take on all these grunts at once and make it out alive.

He recalled Aggron, Snorlax, Meowth, and reluctantly, Pikachu. Pikachu hissed and let some sparks fly, but he knew he had no choice.

As soon as his Pokemon were in their balls, a pair of grunts moved in on Ash and shoved him onto the ground, handcuffing him. Another one picked Mewtwo up and put him back in his restraints. Mewtwo didn't resist for fear of getting Ash hurt.

Saturn crossed his arms behind his back, then walked up to Ash and bent down to face him "So, you thought you could destroy one of our bases, and then just walk in here and steal the most powerful Pokemon in existence?" He punched Ash across the jaw "You know, I almost wouldn't be too disappointed if you had him, just so Team Rocket couldn't hog him again. But, I can't have that." He motioned at the grunts holding Ash, and they lifted him up.

"Put him in a cell." Saturn turned around and walked out, leaving his grunts to do it.

The two holding him pulled him with them, walking him out of the room. The adjacent room was very similar, but smaller. It was a sickly shade of green, with a jail cell instead of a pedestal. The cell was designed for high risk prisoners; the walls were reinforced steel and the wall with the door was made of multiple layers of shatter proof and bullet proof glass. The door was extremely high tech; the core of the was made from two layers of grating around a steel sheet so that if the grating on either side is attacked, two layers of protection still remain. The locks were armored and encased in drill resistant manganese plates to prevent the lock from being manipulated, or a biometric fingerprint scanner programmed with only handful of fingerprints to open it with. Inside the cell, there was a small bed, a sink and toilet, and gas fixtures built into the ceiling in case the prisoner needed to be killed instantaneously. And in case that failed, there were HMX explosives built around the cells that could be detonated if necessary. It would be almost impossible to break out of the cell, aura or no.

Next to it was a desk with a computer on it, for security to sit at. Other than that, the room was empty.

The grunts took Ash over to the cell, and one took all of his poke balls while the other unlocked the door.

The door swiveled open, and they shoved Ash into his cell.

* * *

The hooded man watched Ash go into the hidden base. He followed him down into it, and watched as he killed the guards inside. He waited until Ash and his Pokemon left the front room, then took a uniform from a dead guard, and put it on. After it was on, he pulled out a poke ball and threw it in the air, releasing an Aerodactyl.

He pointed to the body of the grunt he took the uniform from "Burn it Aero. No evidence."

Aerodactyl released a flamethrower, incinerating the body and leaving nothing but a giant scorch mark on the floor. Luckily, it would just be automatically assumed that it was from Ash.

"Good job." he returned Aerodactyl back into his ball, then headed into the base.

* * *

 **AN- *Gasp!* Who is the mysterious man, and what does he want with Ash? And will Ash be able to escape from his captors?**

 **Tune in next time to find out!**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN- Wow, it's been a long time since I last updated, hasn't it? Sorry, but wrestling season started up last month, and then exams, so… I've been** _really_ **busy.**

 **I'm gonna try to get another chapter up before Christmas Break ends to make up for the wait.**

" **Speech" 'thoughts' '** _telepathy'_

 **Please enjoy and Review!**

* * *

Chapter Nine

"I really hate everything and everyone right now."

"Tell me about it. I had to pull double shifts for all of last week 'cause of him."

"..."

Some Galactic grunts were sitting in the cafeteria of the base talking about the bases newest prisoner. Most of the population at the base was unhappy with him because of the extra work they had to do. So naturally, they turned to alcohol to help ease their "pain".

"I don't know why they even want him alive. I think he's too dangerous." The grunt took a swig of his drink then looked over at the third, quiet grunt "What d'ya think mate?"

"..." The man continued with his silence, not even looking at the other two.

"Hey!" The intoxicated grunt shot up and grabbed the man by the front of his shirt "I'm talking to you!"

The man looked at him for a moment before throwing a powerful punch to his stomach. As the grunt stumbled back several feet, he walked over to him and stomped on his chest, cracking some ribs; he took a knife out from his boot and held it up against his throat.

"Please, don't..." the injured grunt spluttered up some blood.

The man looked him in the eyes, then sheathed his knife. He stood up and went back to his seat. The other grunt slowly stood up before running over to his friend and taking him away as fast as he could. What they didn't know, was that the man was and had been making mental maps, pictures, records of everything that he could, memorizing patterns that patrols made for weeks; everything. He was planning on breaking out multiple targets, and he needed it to go off without a hitch. And he was finally ready.

* * *

Ash was asleep in his cell, exhausted from his time in captivity. His captors were merciless and intent on getting Magma secrets, and studying his aura. Ash of course didn't know any secrets and wouldn't cooperate with their studies, and since he wasn't going to give himself or his aura away, he just took the torture. He kept the hope that Domino would come and save him, but deep in his mind, he knew she wouldn't. Team Rocket had a strict policy banning rescue missions to prevent further damage done to operations. So even though she cared for him a lot, she was more loyal to Team Rocket, and had to follow it's rules. Ash was on his own.

As he slept, some more grunts came into the room. They switched places with them, and one of them began to knock on the glass.

Ash stirred, but just waved his hand at them before falling back asleep.

The grunt laughed at him before turning back around "Idiot. I hope the execs decide to get rid of him soon so things can go back to normal."

"..." The other grunt said nothing, and just nodded.

After a few minutes, another one walked in carrying a tray of food "Time to feed him"

"Wha? Oh sure." the grunt nodded and opened a slot for the other guy to push the tray through. He pounded on the door "Food, ya maggot."

Ash quickly woke up at that, and slowly walked over to his supper. They only fed him one, _small,_ meal a day, so Ash was slowly beginning to starve, though he would never show it. But they knew anyway.

"Look at him," the grunt who brought the food laughed, "Maybe they're just plannin' on lettin' him starve to death."

"It would feel good to know that he would die suffering." the other one nodded "Make up for him troubling us."

Suddenly, the third man lashed out and struck one in the throat, then whipped out his knife and stabbed the other in the chest twice before he could react. He made sure that they were dead before taking out his key and unlocking the door, letting Ash out.

Ash slowly walked out, staring at the guard "Who are you?"

"..." The man said nothing and just took a uniform off of the grunt and handed it to Ash.

Ash hesitantly complied and put it on. While he did this, the man took out his Aerodactyl and had him get rid of the bodies.

When Ash was finished, the man wordlessly motioned him to follow before walking out.

Ash was getting a bad feeling about him, but seeing no other viable option, obeyed, and they walked out into the hallway. The whole walk through the base, Ash made sure that he kept his head down so no one would recognize him. Finally, the man took Ash to the room where Mewtwo was being held.

"Wait," Ash asked "you're gonna help me break Mewtwo out too?"

The man nodded and pointed to the poke balls at his belt and then at Ash.

"My poke balls are in there also? Why are you helping me?"

But once again, the man ignored the questions concerning his motives, and opened the door. The room was still the same as before, except Ash's poke balls were on a shelf encased in glass.

As they walked in, Mewtwo slightly raised his head, recognizing Ash, but doing nothing else to acknowledge the two of them.

The group guarding Mewtwo came over to them. One asked "Are you guys our replacements?"

The hooded man nodded.

"Where are the rest of you?"

The man raised his hand and made a hand gesture indicating that they were out drinking.

"I should have guessed. Just as well, it's an easy job, just boring as all get out. Have fun; we're gonna go out ourselves."

Ash and the man walked over to their post and waited for the others to leave. Once they did, the man went over to Mewtwo and unlocked his cuffs with a key card. Ash caught Mewtwo as he fell, as much of his strength had been sapped. The man ran to get Ash's poke balls while Ash talked to the legendary Pokemon.

"Are you okay Mewtwo?" Ash lifted him onto his back, piggyback style.

" _I-I'll be fine_." Mewtwo answered telepathically " _These Galactic people are even worse than Team Rocket. At least they had to keep me strong so I could fight. Saturn only wanted me so he could experiment on me and make enhanced psychic weapons. Luckily, they haven't been able to make any yet."_

The hooded man ran back over and gave Ash his poke balls before giving him a thumbs up. Ash's eyes glinted with blue as he scanned the poke balls, making sure that the Pokemon inside were his. "Great to have you guys back."

The man nodded, then motioned for Ash to follow him once again.

Ash, knowing that walking in the open with Mewtwo was a poor decision, protested, "Wait! They'll see us, and we won't be able to get away before they kill us! This place is crawling with grunts!"

The man just waved his hand again before pointing to a door in the back. He opened it up and went out.

Ash was confused, but decided that dying with a fight was better than dying of hunger. As he went out, he saw that at the man's feet were the bodies of five grunts. "How…?" He was dumbfounded. How could he take out five grunts single handedly in such a short time? But he got no response from the man, and he ran down the stairway to the left. Ash followed behind, watching as the hooded man took out the occasional grunt along the way. Luckily, the path was empty save those few grunts. Once at the end of the hallway, Red stopped at the door and waited for Ash to catch up. He then opened the door, which revealed the night outside.

The hooded man motioned for Ash to stay put before he ran into the darkness. Ash just stood there as he waited. After a few minutes, he heard a car getting closer. Just to be safe, he hid himself and Mewtwo behind a large crate. The car came up to the side of the base, and the hooded man jumped out, looking for Ash and Mewtwo. Recognizing him, Ash picked Mewtwo back up and carried him over to the car. He tried to put Mewtwo into the backseat, but he weakly protested, " _No. I need a better place to rest than this_."

"Well, we don't have much choice." Ash told him "It's either here or in a poke ball."

Mewtwo frowned. But, he seemed to be thinking it over. " _If I let you put me in one of those devilish devices, do you swear to free me when I ask_?"

"Of course."

"Then I choose the poke ball."

"Alright," Ash took a poke ball out of his recovered bag "are you sure?"

Mewtwo nodded.

"Okay." Ash threw the poke ball, and it hit Mewtwo on the head before sucking him in with a flash of red. It caught without any resistance. Ash walked to the ball and picked it up "Never thought I'd catch a legendary."

' _Hardly'_ A voice appeared in Ash's head.

"What?" Ash whipped around "Who was that?"

 _'It was me, Stupid.'_ Mewtwo responded _'Just because I'm in this prison does not mean that I cannot communicate with telepathy.'_

"Oh." Ash didn't really know what to say "That's kind of creepy."

 _'Whatever. Just don't ever say that you caught me again, or I will replace your arms with your legs and vice versa, then remove what makes you a man.'_

"You got it." Ash nervously laughed as he gingerly placed the poke ball in his bag "Never again."

Ash got into the car and received an impatient look from the hooded man.

"Let's just go before any grunts see us." Ash told him.

The man grunted and pushed down the gas, following a small path into the woods.

As they drove through the forest, an uncomfortable silence, for Ash, arose. He felt both anger and gratitude for this mysterious man. Clearly he was grateful for the man's help, but at the same time, what was with the lack of talking and the mystery?

"So, what's your name?" Ash asked him "Can you talk?"

The man smiled and nodded.

"Then why don't you?"

He didn't get a response immediately.

"Because it's funny to watch people get mad." The man responded.

Ash looked at him with shock. He didn't know what to make of that, and he didn't think that he was going to get a real answer. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he did, a thought occurred to him. He looked at the man "You sound familiar..." His eyes shone blue as he looked at him with aura. 'His aura looks familiar too.' He thought "Do we know each other?"

"Why, yes. Yes we do." The man took off his hood, revealing his face to Ash "I'm Red, the guy who kidnapped you and tried to kill you the other week, though now that I think about it, we were never properly introduced. Remember?"

Ash threw his fist out and punched Red square in the jaw, causing the car to lurch to the side.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm trying to drive here!" Red complained while rubbing his jaw "Don't you know that you're not supposed to mess with the driver? You could get us killed!"

Ash jumped into the back seat to get away from him "So that's why you rescued me? So you could finish the job yourself?"

"What? No, of course not. Though I do have a deal for you."

"A deal? What kind of deal could you possibly want with me?"

"I'll tell you in a little bit." Red told him "But first, let's get to know each other some. So, tell me something about yourself."

"No!" Ash refused "First, tell me what you want with me."

Red laughed "Gosh Pika," he smiled "He's real jumpy, isn't he?"

"Pi Pika!" Pika said from the glove compartment.

"What?" Ash asked "Why is your Pikachu in the glove compartment?"

Red turned off of the path and onto a highway "Because that's where I keep the mustard."

"Mustard..." Ash shook his head "Look, just tell me what you want with me."

"Fine." Red looked back at him "How much do you know about aura users?"

Ash thought for a moment, still warily eyeing Red "Not much really, though I did learn a little once when I visited Rota."

"Oh good," Red smiled "I love telling stories. Okay, first, you need to know about us red aura users. A very long time ago, aura users were relatively common. They weren't necessarily everywhere, but there were a whole lot more than there are today. There were two kinds of aura users, blue, and red. The red aura users had psychic powers as well as aura powers. Blue aura users had no psychic powers, but their aura was way stronger, so they were about even. That goes for today too, by the way. Now, since you were at Rota once, I'm sure you heard about the massive battle that took place there but was stopped by Sir Aaron?"

"Yes." Ash curtly replies.

"Geez, calm down," Red turned on the radio "I said I'm not here for revenge, remember? Anyway, that battle was not between two warring kingdoms, it was a battle between the red and blue aura users. Long story short, the Aura Guardians won, and the red users lost. Both sides were still in relatively good form manpower wise, but they both had suffered a great number of casualties, and they were no longer welcome anywhere. The leader of the red aura users, Abigar, was sealed in the Reverse World with his five best warrior's. While that's good, because most red aura users are less than pleasant, it's also bad because life is eternal in the Reverse World, so they've been in there for the last thousand years or so getting stronger. But it's kind of irrelevant because he can't get out. While the red aura users were going back to Orre, Arceus sent Rayquaza to create a huge storm that killed most of the red aura users."

Red turned hard to avoid hitting another car, then stuck his head out of the window "Watch where you're going, you idiot!"

"Continuing, what most people don't know, is that Arceus also placed a curse on them. He separated their powers and made it so they could only reunite them if a blue aura user unlocks it with their aura."

"So that's why you want me." Ash said "You want me to unlock your psychic powers."

"Basically, yes."

"Why would I do that?" Ash questioned "You kidnapped me and tried to kill me. Now, can you let me out?"

"Nope!" Red chirped "And remember, I said I had a deal for you."

Ash thought for a moment "What's the deal?"

Red looked at him through the rear view mirror "I know that you hate being with Team Rocket, and I hate them too. But because I've been working with them to make money, I know where your Pokemon are. I'll help you bust them out."

"I don't believe that." Ash told him "What reason could you have to work with them if you hate them?"

Red's eyes burned with anger "Because Giovanni has one of my Pokemon, and I want him back. Use your aura. You can tell if I'm lying or not. Seriously, do you know anything besides the extreme basics?"

Ash mumbled something incoherent before climbing back into the front seat "How do I do that?"

Red sighed "Close your eyes."

Ash did as he was told.

"Now, focus on my aura. When you do this, you will feel what I feel. You will be able to feel my sincerity or insincerity."

Ash did so, and a wave of emotions hit him. Red's aura projected his anger, frustration, and deep sadness. Over what, Ash didn't know. But, he did feel that Red was being sincere with his words.

"Well, that will come in handy." Ash said as he opened his eyes "Fine. I believe you. Where are my Pokemon?"

"Good. Seriously kid, just because someone kidnaps you and tries to kill you, doesn't mean that he's a bad person. Don't be so paranoid."

Ash stared at him "Are you always so… strange?"

"Yep!" Red smiled "But only around people or Pokemon that I like."

"Anyway," Ash shook his head "what are we going to do next?"

Red laughed "I have my very own plane. We are going to take it back to Kanto, which, by the way, I believe is where we both hail from. Once there, I have a place where we can train you to not suck so much. Then, you can help me with my problem, and then we can get your Pokemon back."

Red held a hand out to Ash "Deal?"

Ash looked at his hand "Deal.

* * *

 **AN- How'd ya like it? Worth the wait? Tell me with your reviews! Like I said, I think that I can squeeze another chapter in before Christmas Break ends; the only problem being that I have wrestling practices and a huge tournament next week.**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN- Thanks to my beta reader Flamewing98! If he weren't so good, this would be another few days late!**

" **Speech" 'thoughts' '** _telepathy'_

 **Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter Ten

Ash grunted as he leaped to the side, a blindfold over his eyes as an aura sphere whizzed by his head. His brow furrowed in concentration, he sensed another projectile hurtling towards him and he jumped out of the way, only to get slammed to the ground by Red.

"Come on, Ash." Red put him in a double arm lock as Ash jumped up "You gotta do better than that."

Ash merely grunted again with focus, dropping to a crouch to lower his center of gravity. When Red tried to lift him back up, Ash shot his right foot behind Red's left and threw his hip violently to throw Red off of him. Red hit the ground hard, but not hard enough to keep him there. He jumped up and threw another aura sphere at at Ash while simultaneously throwing a large rock with his psychic powers. Ash back flipped to dodge the rocks and caught the aura sphere as he landed, sliding backwards because of the momentum. With a small frown, he managed to absorb the aura sphere with both hands and ran towards Red. Red threw a punch that Ash swatted aside, then grabbed his wrist. Ash hit his wrist off, then managed to jump behind Red, grabbing him and putting him in a choke hold, ready to snap his neck.

"Very good." Red gurgled "Now let me go."

Ash released Red, and as he fell to the ground gasping for air, took off the blindfold. "Thanks."

Ash fell down beside Red and they sat there, catching their breaths.

"Neat little trick with my aura sphere," Red commented "when did you learn that?"

"The other day." Ash replied "I used Lucario's aura to learn. It took a while, but after some major bruising, I finally got the hang of it. I'm just trying to be able to do it at an accelerated rate."

Red nodded thoughtfully. "That will come in handy if you get fast enough at it." He stood up, offering his hand to Ash "Want to go another round?"

"Not really," Ash took the hand and Red helped him up "I think five is enough. Let's go check on the Pokemon."

They walked out of the small arena and started towards the hot spring.

They were training in Red's secret spot: Mt. Silver. Ash and Red had fixed a small arena of sorts to train in; they cleared a small area about fifty yards in diameter, minus the odd scattered tree for training purposes. They tied a rope to one of the higher ones to work on upper body strength, and Red managed to find a weight set, though they hardly used it. They preferred hand to hand combat with each other and their Pokemon to the weights. On another tree, they built a small wooden platform encircling it about ten feet up. They used that to either jump up to or jump down from. The arena was only a short walk from the summit.

The hot spring wasn't far from their arena, and as they neared it, sounds of Pokemon fighting became clear.

Aggron was locked with Snorlax in a hand to hand struggle, while Red's Espeon was using her telepathy to block the attacks of both Pikachus, Glalie, and Sceptile. Lucario and Gallade were practicing various martial arts moves, and Charizard and Aerodactyl were engaged in aerial combat. Meowth was hitting a boulder with his head. The rest were lounging nearby, already finished with their training for the day.

Red let out a piercing whistle, and all of the Pokemon scrambled over to them.

"Okay guys." Ash told them "Finish what you're doing quickly, then go find some food and head back on over to camp. We're done for the day."

They all nodded, then ran off into the forest to gather berries. Everyone except the Pikachus, who knew their masters had their favorite condiments waiting for them at camp.

As they walked back to camp, Red gave a thoughtful grunt, "I think you're about ready, Ash."

Ash looked at him "Are you sure?"

"I think so. We'll try tomorrow, and if it doesn't work, then no harm done. Hopefully"

"Okay. You know, this seems as a good a time as any to say: you've never told me why you went berserk on me at that Galactic base."

"Really?" Red murmured "I guess I'd forgotten about it. Well, it's not something that trained aura users do. I didn't really have what I'm giving you; formal training. I managed to teach myself about aura from traveling, researching, and experimenting, but a lot of my raw power comes a lot from my anger. And of course, getting beaten in the face while immobile is pretty infuriating."

"Will this aura transfer help with your anger?" Ash interrupted.

"No." Red scratched the back of his head "My anger issues stem from my past. When I was younger, my father abused me and my mother. One day, he beat my mother much harder than usual, and I lost it. My aura flared up for the first time, and I ended up killing him. Once my mother recovered, she was horrified by me because of my aura, and abandoned me."

"Wait a second," Ash interrupted "Why are you telling me your life story? Sure, we've been training here for a few weeks, but I still don't fully trust you. It's not like we're _that_ close."

Red rolled his eyes "Because I want you to trust me. You're looking at this the wrong way. It's not that we've _only_ been training together for a few weeks. It's that, hey, we've been training together for a few weeks! That's a lot of time to spend basically one on one with someone. If you want to be all closed off and not trust me, fine, but I trust you well enough."

Ash nodded slowly with a small frown, still slightly unsure "If you say so. Might as well finish your story."

Red smiled "I lived on the streets for years, and I only survived because of my aura. That's why I have a hard time controlling my anger; it was what saved me, and that affected me on a subconscious level; it's kind of like a survival instinct. This whole training thing has done me a load of good though. I've worked on some discipline, so hopefully, it won't happen again."

"Wow." Ash was shocked. He had no idea what Red had gone through; he had never even hinted about his past before "Then what will this accomplish?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but from what I've gathered over the years is that it should allow me to grow my psychic powers beyond what I have now. I can only manipulate small amounts of matter, but this should unlock the rest of my potential, which would help put me on par with other aura users since my aura isn't as strong. Oh, I think I remember reading somewhere that the ancient red aura users could manipulate others minds to a point. That would be cool."

"So this won't really _give_ you anything, just allow to to grow stronger and learn new things. And if you don't unlock it, your ability with aura _and_ psychic power have a cap, so aura users would always be stronger than you."

"I think so. Theoretically, I wouldn't have a cap on my psychic powers, like you and your aura."

Ash nodded "Okay. This has gotten too deep. Let's just try and relax before tomorrow. No point in getting all worked up so we get no rest. The faster we get this done, the sooner we can save our Pokemon"

"Roger that."

* * *

The next morning, Ash woke up to a bucket of ice water to the face.

"Rise n' shine!"

Ash jumped out of bed, blindly throwing an aura sphere. Red jumped out of the way, tripping over the campfire he had set up, catching his cloak on fire.

"Ahhhh!" Red ran out of the cave their camp was in and jumped into a large snow bank, completely burying himself under the snow.

Ash rubbed his eyes, looking at Red with impatience, and sent him another aura sphere for good measure.

Their camp was in a pretty great spot. Nestled in a cave next to the hot springs, it was one of the warm places on Mt. Silver. Ash's bed was only a few feet from Red's which was next to a makeshift kitchen. Built into the cave wall. The entrance of the cave was blocked off by a reinforced wooden wall, designed to withstand the bitter weather of the mountain. He stretched as he got out of bed, then dropped to the ground to do some push ups to wake himself up faster.

A muffled voice from outside cried out "Hey Ash, it's not storming today. Nice." Red popped his head out from under the snow with a grin "Now hurry up and eat, I'm too excited to control myself. Literally. Just remember to not eat the yellow snow."

Ash just rolled his eyes and got up to get some berries for breakfast. He came back to find Red warming himself next to the fire. After Red finished, they started towards the top of the mountain.

The walk was a quiet one, which was nothing unusual. The Pokemon of the mountain had long ago gotten used to the fact that Ash and Red were the Alphas of the mountain. All it took was Red beating up a Skarmory with his bare hands while it was flying after it attacked him, then sending the unconscious bird into a lone Ursaring, which fell off of a small cliff into a herd of Stantler, knocking all of them out as well. After that, nothing bothered them or their Pokemon.

The summit was where Ash and Red battled their Pokemon. It was a huge open space, and also the flattest part of the whole mountain, but in the middle was a large stone; round, short, and flat, but a few yards long in diameter. There were also no wild Pokemon to bother them. It was a great spot to battle. And for Ash to cure Red of the curse.

They walked over to the stone and sat close to each other, each cross legged and facing the other.

"Okay," Red rolled his shoulders "let's try something like you did earlier. You form an aura ball, and put it near near my chest. Then I'll focus on it to get ready to accept it, then you shove it in my chest. After that, my body should become accustomed to your aura. Next, create another ball of aura, but this time, focus on it, make it bigger. You have to envelope me with it. I will then release some red aura in the ball, and if nothing explodes, that should do the trick."

Ash nodded and cracked his knuckles "Let's hope nothing explodes then."

Ash summoned an aura ball and held it close to Red as Red closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment of concentration, Red gave a thumbs up, and Ash shoved his arm forward, sinking the ball of aura into Red's chest. It went in smoothly, though not without pain, and Ash immediately formed a second as Red started to garner a light blue hue to his skin. Ash held both hands out this time, and his brows furrowed as he concentrated on the ball. It slowly started to enlarge, encasing Red's feet, then legs and arms. From there, it slowly began to envelope his whole body, until he was completely surrounded.

Red took several quick breaths before opening his eyes and holding out a hand, which briefly glowed purple. Nothing happened for a moment. Suddenly, the aura ball started glowing purple, and it emitted a force so strong, that it knocked Ash over and off of the rock. Ash recovered quickly and sprang up, but there was no point. His ball of aura was still over Red, but the aura/psychic matter was starting to flow into Red. He screamed in pain, and his eyes started shooting purple red light. After the ball was gone, Red stopped screaming and his eyes closed as he silently collapsed.

Ash rushed over to him and lifted his head "Red! Are you alright!?" He gently slapped his face as he seemed to stir "Red!"

Red squirmed and groaned "Ugh. That was the worst thing ever. Can it be your turn now?"

Ash sighed and ignored his question "Well, looked like nothing exploded. Do you think it worked?"

"I don't really know for sure." Red opened his eyes. Something was different. His eyes were no longer just red. One of his eyes kept their original red, while the other had adopted a dark purple. "Whoa, Red," Ash whistled "your eyes changed color. I guess that means it worked."

"What!?" Red jumped up while pulling his sunglasses out of his pocket to look at himself in "Not my eyes! They were so beautifully original! I can't believe this!" He threw his sunglasses off of the mountain "That was _soo_ not worth it! I never would have agreed to this if I had known that my eyes would have changed color! What is wrong with you Arceu-"

Ash punched Red with an aura infused fist, knocking him out. As Red fell to the ground, Ash just looked at him with a bewildered look "Goodness. I guess he really liked his red eyes." He held his hand up to his mouth and let out a whistle. He heard a roar in response, and a few moments later, Ash could see Charizard flying up from camp. As he landed, he snorted in the direction of Red's unconscious body.

"Don't worry about him. Would you please take us back to camp?" Charizard roared again, picked up Red's body as Ash climbed onto his back, and they took off for the campsite.

* * *

Red woke up later in the evening. "Oh man." He rubbed his head "Ash, did you have to hit me so hard?"

Ash was lying down on his bed "Yes. You were kind of being an idiot."

"Meh, opinions. Anyway, I guess it worked, because my eyes changed colors."

"Good." Ash smiled as Pikachu jumped on his lap "So, what's next?"

Red chuckled and gave a smirk "Now it's time for some fun! We're going to get our Pokemon back."

* * *

 **A/N- Well, what can I say? Sorry for the long wait, but I've been super busy with school. Questions, comments, concerns? Please leave them in a review or PM me. Thanks for holding on with me!**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N-** " **Speech" 'thoughts' '** _telepathy'_

 **Thanks to my beta reader Flamewing98!  
**

 **Please enjoy and review.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

The sun was beginning to set in the town of Rota, and the roads were jam packed. Normally at this time, the streets would be mostly empty, but today was the grand opening of the Royal Aura Resort Poke-park, and visitors had poured in from all over the region to attend. Among those visitors was May and the gang. After waiting for a whole week for the Pokemon park to open, they were ready to finally see some Pokemon.

"Come on Guys!" May ran ahead of the group to find their seats "They're starting the ceremony!"

"Slow down May," Brock panted as he struggled before managing to fall into the seat beside her "Not all of us got so much sleep last night. We were busy."

He was referring to the Meowth Casino and Spa, where everyone but May spent a lot of the night relaxing and having some fun. May didn't like the casino because it had a bar, and the bar reminded her of some of the hard times she had after Ash disappeared. Her eyes unfocused as the manager began to speak, slipping into a memory.

* * *

(Two months after Ash's disappearance)

 _May was wandering through Viridian City. In her hands was a bottle of Spinda Brew and it was more than half empty. A look at the path behind her and one could tell that it wasn't her first either._

 _Eyes glazed over, May made her way over to a door, above which read "The Tipsy Taillow". She opened the door and walked into a crowded room filled with men and women either dancing or playing pool. Almost all of them were drunk. She stumbled over to the bartender and drunkenly asked for another bottle of Spinda Brew. As she waited for her next drink, a shallow looking man with greasy black hair and a trench coat filled with holes walked over._

" _Hey girlie," He sat down next to her "wanna have some fun?"_

 _May took her bottle from the bartender and gave him five Poke dollars. Popping off the cork, she turned to look at the man._

" _No thenksh."_

 _She turned her attention back to her drink, but he just laughed._

" _Playing hard to get, are we?" He leaned over, and she could smell his sour breath "I like a good chase."_

" _Please." May sniffed as she got up to leave "I'm shpoken fer."_

 _She walked for the door, but not before she heard him say, "Oh, but who doesn't want what's out of reach."_

 _May stumbled out into the street and waved down a taxi. Unfortunately for her, the taxi was just a large Rattata that, in her stupor, she mistook for a taxi._

" _Jerk." She kicked the Rattata, and it scurried away "Guess I'll hafta walk home m-myself."_

 _The way back to Pallet Town was a long one, almost a thirty minute walk, but May was too drunk to think of any danger. About halfway there, she finished her drink, and stopped for a moment to check that it really was empty._

 _ *** Snap ***_

 _May turned as quickly as a drunken mind allowed "Whoosh there?"_

 _Nothing._

 _She scanned the treeline, and a small Pidgey burst out of a bush._

" _Heh." May laughed "I'm goin' crazy. I need 'nother drink."_

 _Suddenly, a man jumped out of the same bush, and knocked May over._

" _Wha!?" A surprised May exclaimed._

" _Hey baby," the man purred "I told you. I love a good chase. Now why don't you just make this easier for the both of us and not resist?"_

 _He slowly walked up towards May. Alarmed, as if just registering that she was in danger, she tried to run._

" _Now now. Not so fast." The man leapt forward and pinned her against a tree. "Sakes, they oughta put a ban on young things like yourself. You're liable to get a man like me in trouble."_

 _May squirmed and tried to scream, but the man quickly clamped a hand over her mouth "None of that now, ya hear?" He ran a hand down her face, her neck, her shoulder, her arm._

" _Let's just have some fun, yeah?" She was trembling in horror. A muffled "Please..." escaped her covered mouth._

 _He tore her jacket off of her body, revealing her red tank top. Tears started to leak from May's eyes._

" _Wow." He breathed heavily, eyes wide and alert as if he was in combat "Beautiful."_

 _He wrapped his arms around May, constricting her as her took her out of her baggy sweatpants. Underneath were her short biking shorts. Another hitched breath from the man._

" _Now that's what I like to see."_

 _On the verge of a total panicked breakdown, May thrashed wildly, and managed to smash her bottle on a nearby tree trunk. The man jerked backwards, and May lunged at him with the broken glass, cutting his arm deeply. He howled in pain, the sound reverberating in the empty night._

 _However, like a cornered Growlithe, she wasn't about to let her advantage go. She slashed again, catching the same arm, and again; his leg. He screamed and screamed, but May didn't stop. Calling upon her anger and bitter longing for Ash she hacked at the man again and again, until he stopped screaming. Once he did, she stopped, and looked down at herself. She was bleeding, except… it wasn't her blood. She was splattered with his blood._

 _Tears once again overtook her, and she collapsed on the ground, weeping, crying herself to sleep where she laid until morning, where her Blaziken, sent out by her mother, found her._

* * *

Shaking her head, May dispelled the memory from her mind, and focused on the present. This wasn't the time to think of those times. This was the time for fun with her friends.

"May?" … "May!" A clap in front of her face helped her tune back into the present.

"Sorry guys, just a little lost in thought." She gave a fake giggle "Funny, huh?"

Brock and Misty exchanged a look, but decided not to press the matter.

"If you say so."

Dawn stood up "Well, I'm glad that's over. What say we go and check out some cute Pokemon now?"

May blinked as she realized she had missed the speech "Um, yeah, let's go!"

* * *

Ash zoomed in with his binoculars "Hmmm. No sign of Team Rocket yet."

Ash and Red were camped out on one of the highest buildings in the town of Rota, surveying the Royal Aura Resort for Team Rocket activity.

Red leaned down from his makeshift lawn chair he constructed out of rubber bands and some Rhydon horns "Well, duh. There not gonna show their faces immediately." He spat off of the building and onto a car as it drove by "If I were Giovanni, I'd wait 'till everyone was nice and cozy with their trip first too."

"Yeah," Meowth agreed "Giovanni's not one to rush things before they're ready."

Ash grunted and set the binoculars next to the sleeping Pikachu curled up next to him "Yeah, but I'm ready to roll. You got me all pumped up when we left, and we've been sitting here for two days since then." He cracked his neck "The initial adrenaline has worn off."

"Lightweight."

"Ha ha." Ash stood up, stretching his back as he did so. "Make fun if you will, but I want to get this show on the road."

"Patience is key, Ash." Red yawned, looking at his new eyes in the reflection of his sunglasses "Part of being a good soldier is being patient. Combat is just short bursts of intense action with, if you're lucky, looong stretches of boredom. Get used to it. At least you've made it to the boredom."

"Ugh." Ash grunted as he dropped back down and picked up his Pikachu, petting him.

Silence dominated the small group for the next few hours. Ash continued to pet Pikachu and watch with his binoculars while Red snacked and napped.

* * *

"Red!" Ash whispered fiercely.

Red snapped out of sleep and knocked the bag of Poffin-O's to the ground "What is it?"

"It's your turn to watch." Ash loomed over Red "I've been watching for almost ten hours; it's almost oh two hundred. I need sleep and delicious assorted berry flavored goodness too. Move it." He kicked him out of the chair.

Red landed face first, but managed to crawl over to the edge of the roof, grumbling some not very nice things about his partner.

Red sat for about fifteen minutes in silence, mainly plotting how he would get back at Ash, when a glint of a fairly large truck caught his eye.

Red smiled sinisterly and dashed over to the chair and the sleeping Ash to tip him over and wake him up. Ash crashed to the ground, and had a ball of aura ready to go in seconds.

"Wha-?" Ash blinked "Red!"

Red stifled a smirk and waved him to the truck.

The aura ball vanished "What?"

The truck was pulling into a side lot where some guys were hanging out. With their binoculars, they could see Team Rocket uniforms on them.

"Why don't they ever change their uniform?" Ash wondered aloud "I mean, even Jessie and James were smart enough to do that."

"Whose idea do you think that was?" Meowth rubbed his eyes.

Red pointed to a pair standing away from the group of grunts "Like those guys, they're not wearing any distinguishable markings."

As they watched, the men started to unload crates from the back of the truck. They were rather large but, like the pair of guys outside, held no markings so they could tell what they hid.

"Hmm." Red scratched his chin thoughtfully while tapping his knee "I want to see what's in those crates."

He closed his eyes and stretched out his hand, and it faintly glowed purple. One of the grunts tripped, and the crate he was holding fell to the ground.

"Let's see what they've got."

The crate smashed against the ground, and all kinds of stuff came out. Alcohol bottles, rocket launchers, assault rifles, cigarette boxes, pistols, silencers, and poke balls spilled everywhere. The men frantically cleaned it up, and it was all out of sight within two minutes. No evidence of any illegal activity within view.

Ash whistled "Well, that pretty much proves that they're up to no good."

"Yeah, go figure."

"I don't know about you, but I would rather get our Pokemon before they can put all of those weapons to use."

"Ya know," Red stood and released Espeon "I'm inclined to agree with you." He pointed to the small building that the men were loading into. "Recon. Ten minutes. Look for entrances in and out and look for secret rooms that could lead to their real FOB. Go."

Ash released Ninjask and Gengar "Go with her."

Espeon and Ninjask raced to the site, and Ash and Red awaited their report.

After nine minutes and forty five seconds, the trio raced back up, and delivered it.

Red nodded, and he and Ash returned their Pokemon "Good. Once these punks are done, we'll sneak in, catch 'em by surprise, and bust our Pokemon outta there. Sound good?"

Ash gave a thumbs up "Yup. I'm done with working for them. My only regret is that I probably have no life to get back to, but hey, we've got each other now. We're partners."

"Blech," Red pretended to throw up "Quit it with the sentimental crap. We're about to risk our lives, not attend a wedding for your baby sister. Shape up or ship out, man."

"Sorry. I've just been waiting for this day for a long time. A lot of pressure built up in my mind for it."

"Yeah, well suck it up." Red jerked his head in the grunt's direction "Looks like they're finishing up. Time to move. Let's go."

* * *

May walked down the large outdoor hallway of the Royal Aura Resort; it was much like an archway. Troubled by memories of her past once again, she was wide awake, even though it was almost two thirty in the morning. She wasn't especially distraught; she just couldn't sleep.

Alone with her thoughts, she had wandered pretty far off, and was in a section of the resort she knew she technically wasn't supposed to be in. But, that was okay. Who was going to find her in the middle of night this far away from the hotel?

As she walked, some of the local Pokemon ran up to her and tried to get her to play. Just some nocturnal Pokemon: a Marill, Oddish, and Meowth.

"Come on guys." May giggled tiredly and tried to shoo them away "Maybe some other time."

The Marill and Oddish scurried away, but the Meowth opted to jump on her shoulder and rub heads with her instead.

"Hee, come on, that tickles." May laughed and pet the Meowth's head "All right, you can stay with me. As long as you keep out of trouble."

"Meeeowth." the scratch cat Pokemon purred and nodded.

They continued walking, heading towards the end of the Resort's property. The Meowth's eyes were darting around nervously, as if looking for something, but May didn't notice. She was enjoying the cool night air.

"Ahhh!" the muffled scream softly sounded through the quiet night.

May's eyes squinted in concentration "Did you hear something, Meowth?"

The Meowth quickly shook his head.

"Hmm." She started towards the noise "It sounded like someone fell. They could be unconscious. I'm just going to go check really quickly."

The Meowth hopped down and pushed her legs in the other direction, clearly wanting her to not investigate.

"What is it Meowth?" She knelt down to look at him "Why shouldn't I go and look? Someone could be hurt and need me to get someone to help."

The Meowth looked strained for a moment, then replicated the scream in an _almost_ perfect manner.

"Ahhh!"

However, to someone who hasn't slept well, it sounded like a match "Oh, that was you?"

The Meowth nodded vigorously.

"Well, why didn't you just say so? That was pretty good." She stood up "You want to go check out the cool pond over there?" She pointed towards a large pond in a divot between hills filled with water Pokemon, away from the direction that May thought she had heard the scream.

The Meowth nodded vigorously once more and bounded over to the pond before May could.

"Hey, wait up!"

* * *

"Ahhh!" The grunt screamed as his arm broke, before Ash threw a hand to cover his mouth.

"Now," Ash asked coolly "want to rethink that? Where do you all hide the Pokemon that you steal?"

The grunt whimpered in pain before nodding "Go in the warehouse, down in the stairs inside, then into the facility. There is a statue of a Persian." he quickly told Ash how to open the stairway "The Pokemon are in a small room at the northern end, next to Giovanni's personal quarters. Now let me go!"

Ash smiled grimly, turning to look back at Red "Got that?"

Red nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"Good." Ash formed an aura sphere with his free hand "Sorry, but we can't afford any witnesses."

The grunts eyes widened in fear, and opened his mouth to protest just as Ash jammed the sphere into his head. He quickly went limp in Ash's arms, and he dragged the body to a nearby bush, where it would stay out of sight long enough to get the job done.

"Ready?" Red asked as Ash walked over to him "Which Pokemon are you gonna use?"

Ash checked his belt "Same pair, Ninjask and Gengar." His head moved around, scanning the area "I'd like to use Meowth, but I have no idea where he went. It's not like him to miss out like this, but he can take care of himself."

"I'm gonna use Espeon again too."

They released their Pokemon and went inside.

The place looked like a regular warehouse, with crates, marked this time, filled with food for humans and Pokemon, and various other equipment and supplies necessary to run a resort and park. However, at the end of the building was a statue of a Persian with ruby red eyes, just sitting there by itself, surrounded by none of the clutter like everything else. Ash walked up to the statue, and pressed the right eye, left eye, right eye, then the jewel on it's forehead, and repeated the sequence twice more. It's eyes flashed and mouth opened, and a small green button raised up from it's tongue. Ash pressed the button, and the wall next to the statue began to rumble slightly. A panel opened up, revealing a staircase that led underground. Ash, Red, and their Pokemon exchanged a glance, then went down.

* * *

"Ahh. This little pond is so nice." May breathed deeply with her eyes closed.

She and the Meowth were sitting on the bank of the pond, watching the water Pokemon swim around and play.

"Don't you think so?" She turned to look at the Meowth, who was looking off in a different direction.

"Meowth?"

The cat's head swung back at May, and he gave a short purr and a nod.

"Yeah. I wish I could just lie here forever." She closed her eyes once more, and the Meowth turned away again to look in the same direction.

* * *

"This would be way easier with Mewtwo." Red whispered to Ash as they sneaked through the Rocket base "He's a lot better at sensing people than we are."

Ash's eyes were closed as he focused with his aura "There." He pointed to his left "Two of them."

Gengar disappeared, and moments later returned with the bodies of two grunts.

"Dispose of them."

Espeon opened one of the crates psychically, and Gengar eased the bodies in, before Espeon quietly put the lid back on.

"Good work." Ash nodded.

Red made a face "I guess you're not so bad at it yourself. I wish my psychic powers were that well formed."

Ash shrugged and waved his hand forward, signaling everyone to continue.

They continued on in silence from that point on, only stopping to repeat the process of eliminating guards. Once they made it to the back of the facility, Ash held a fist up: telling everyone to stop.

He closed his eyes again, really focusing as he tried to sense anyone nearby before they took back their Pokemon.

He shook his head "I don't sense anyone else."

Red grunted "Too bad. I would've liked to give Giovanni a quick hello when we're done."

Ash chuckled "Me too." He gestured at the door "Age before beauty."

Red put his hand on the handle and shook it "Of course it's locked." He knelt down and pulled out a lock pick "Luckily, I used to know a guy who taught me the basics."

He fiddled with the lock for a moment before it gave a soft click, and opened up.

They went in, and saw rows upon rows of poke balls.

Ash and Red split up to find their respective Pokemon.

After a few minutes, Ash found what he was looking for. All of his Pokemon's poke balls were gathered in one spot at the very back of the room, surrounded by a field of electricity.

'Meowth would be really helpful right about now.' Ash thought as he powered up an aura sphere to discharge the field.

He thrust the ball in, and the field immediately dissipated, leaving nothing between Ash and his Pokemon. He quickly gathered up the poke balls and put them into his bag.

"Nice to have everyone back."

As he stood up, he heard a quiet "Yipee!"

Red ran over to him "I found mine, you ready?"

Ash nodded "Let's get out of here. I can't wait to see everyone again."

Before they left, Ash did another aura check of the area, and didn't sense anyone.

They stuck to the back wall as they left, making it back outside without encountering anyone else.

Suddenly, the lights on the building flashed on, and grunts too numerous to count flooded around Ash and Red.

Ash took a small step back in absolute shock "What!? How could this be!? I didn't sense anyone!"

Red gave a loud growl and assumed a fighting stance "I guess you're not as advanced as we thought. Looks like we have to fight our way out."

A man obscured by the grunts started to clap slowly "Well, well, well. I guess you two were stupid enough to try and double cross me." The figure stepped out, revealing Giovanni "I thought that I had you both under my thumb. I thought the lives of your Pokemon would be enough to keep you under control. My only option now is to kill both of you." He sighed "A pity. You two were so good at this. Maybe in another life you would be my lieutenants instead of my enemies."

"Ha!" Ash laughed "Good luck. You'll get your money's worth trying to stop me with all of my Pokemon."

Giovanni smirked "Oh really?"

A spotlight drew attention in the treeline, where all of Ash's Pokemon were lined up with behavior collars on, chained to a machine and each other. They were all painfully thin and had darkened bags under their eyes, as if they hadn't eaten or slept properly in months.

"You don't really think that I would be stupid enough to keep all of your Pokemon in one spot like that, do you? In case you tried to betray me, I put your poke balls in there to throw you off."

Ash gasped, all of his confidence escaping him. How could he have fallen for such a basic trick?

A small light flashed behind him, and a Poliwrath materialized.

"Too bad you didn't try and hide Poli!" Red smirked "Don't worry, Ash. We'll get your Pokemon back."

Giovanni gave a booming laugh "Not likely. Look at how outnumbered you are!" He walked back out of the crowd and into a stealth helicopter that was hidden in the tree growth "If you really think you can win this fight, we're so far away from the hotel and park that no one will hear a thing. You'll both die with no one to know, or anyone to care."

He smoothed back his hair "However, I'm a reasonable man. If you surrender now, I'll think about giving you another chance.

"Never!" Ash yelled pulling all of his poke balls off of his belt.

Giovanni shrugged "Fine then." He turned to one of his officers and spoke to him quickly and quietly. "Now, I have some business to attend to. Gentlemen."

The officer saluted as Giovanni's helicopter took off and flew away.

Left to face off against hundreds of grunts and their Pokemon, Ash and Red released the rest of theirs.

The officer that Giovanni had spoken to pulled out some poke balls of his own "Git 'em boys!"

* * *

May had fallen asleep by the pond. She was dreaming about the life she would have had with Ash if he hadn't disappeared. They had three kids, two boys and a girl, and lived peacefully. No more crazy adventures, where they could just enjoy life together and with their friends, family, and Pokemon.

Her dream was interrupted by a huge commotion. People yelling and Pokemon fighting dominated the quiet that had reigned just moments earlier.

The Meowth jumped up, suddenly alert. He ran to the top of the hill, and his eyes grew wide before bounding back down to May.

"What in Arceus' name is that?" May tried to run where she could get a better view, but the Meowth stepped in front of her and held it's arms our, not letting her go.

"Come on Meowth, listen to that!" She stepped over him and continued "I need to see what it could possibly be."

She went up the small hill, and tried to looked over, but the Meowth tried once again to stop her. To no avail, however, and May just sidestepped him again and looked out at the battle raging.

May looked on, mouth agape "What could possibly be going on?"

She looked a little closer and saw that the battle seemed to be going on between two men and their Pokemon and a huge group of men and their Pokemon. Electricity, fire, poison blobs, every kind of attack was being thrown around.

"This looks dangerous. I think we should go alert the authorities, shouldn't we?"

The Meowth nodded frantically and tried to pull her away. As she was about to go with him, something caught her eye.

"Hold on a second, Meowth." She squinted in concentration and there it was again! Aura balls, just like the ones Ash could use were being thrown by the two, men. Except one man's were red instead of blue.

May's eyes widened, and she suddenly wanted to continue watching. People who had a talent like Ash did? She had to see what was going on.

"I'm going to go a little closer." She looked at Meowth, who was shaking his head "I just want to watch. Anyone who tried to interfere would just get hurt anyway, so calling someone would be a bad idea. Let's just watch and wait it out."

She darted over the hilltop and made it closer and closer to the battle, with Meowth tailing very close behind. May made it to the woods about one hundred yards away, close enough so that the sound was almost deafening.

As she watched, she saw people and Pokemon going down everywhere, but when the two men's Pokemon fell, they returned them. The group left their Pokemon out on the ground and focused on the fight. From this distance, she could make out what everyone was wearing.

She gasped "Those are Team Rocket grunts! I'll bet they're here to try and steal the Pokemon from the resort!"

She saw a grunt's head come off as an aura sphere hit it.

She almost threw up in horror "Arceus! They're killing each other!"

The Meowth stepped and stood in front of her, as if ready to protect her.

However, try as she might, she couldn't make out who the pair of men were. They both wore strange cloaks and had hoods on, and she didn't recognize their teams, either. The Pokemon the man with the blue aura still had a Charizard, Lucario, and Pikachu out, while the man with the red aura still had out a Poliwrath, Pikachu, and Espeon. The rest of their Pokemon had already fallen and been returned before she could see them.

'They must be security guards,' May thought as she watched with a horrified expression 'why else would they be fighting such a large group? They're pretty strong for just security guards though.'

As she continued to watch, she saw one of the Rockets sneak away from the battle towards another stretch of woods. In the woods, May could make out a large group of Pokemon chained to some sort of machine.

'That's funny.' May thought, now thoroughly confused 'What's going on here?'

* * *

Ash, Red, and their Pokemon were fighting like demons. For every one of their Pokemon that fainted, they took down ten of Team Rocket's. Ash and Red were making quick work out of the grunts, who couldn't use their guns because of the risk of friendly fire, and had to resort to hand held weapons.

A grunt rushed Ash with a long knife, and Ash's fist grew blue in response. His hand darted faster than the eye could follow, and he tore the weapon out of his hand before delivering a quick aura infused slash to the man's throat. As the man died, Ash still had a grip on his hand, and used his body to block the stab of another, who was then crushed as Charizard rolled out of the way of an Electivire's lightning. Ash then shot off a quick succession of triple aura spheres that ripped through the bodies of three grunts, felling them, and was throwing up aura shields left and right. A few feet away, Red was using his psychic powers to trip up grunts and wrench their weapons out of their hands. However, unpracticed as he was with his psychic power, he quickly grew tired with it and switched back to only aura. Technically speaking, Red's aura shouldn't be stronger than Ash's, as his was red and Ash's was blue, but Ash was still relatively untrained in the matter, so Red had the stronger of the two. Using it in tandem with his Ka-Bar, Red shot and slashed like a whirlwind through the grunts. In less than thirty seconds, he felled almost a dozen of his enemies.

Ash and Red bumped backs and continued to fight, determined to make their way through the grunt's ranks. They were already almost halfway done.

A loud noise pierced the sound of the battle. The officer with whom Giovanni had spoken was standing next to Ash's group of Pokemon, and had turned on the mysterious machine.

He flipped a switch "You asked for this!"

When Giovanni had spoken to him, he told him that should for even a moment, it looked like Ash and Red could win, he was to kill all of Ash's Pokemon. That way, Ash would be too distracted to fight, and therefore be an easy target.

The machine started to hum loudly, and glowed blue. The blue glow shot it's way through the chains connected to it, and all of Ash's Pokemon started to thrash in agony.

Ash looked on in horror, unable to help as he was onset by an attack renewed by grunts confidant that this was their chance.

"NO!"

An aura sphere here, a shield there, another burst of spheres. Ash tried to make his way over to his Pokemon, but there was nothing he could do.

"I'm coming, you guys!"

He ran as fast as he could, panic starting to set in, but it was too late.

The air was dominated by the screams of his Pokemon, and, one by one, they started to fall over. First Bulbasaur, then Muk, then Pidgeot, Kingler, Tauros, Corphish, Quilava, Staraptor, Heracross; slowly but surely, they all fell. Dead. The one at the end of the chains, the last one alive, Bayleaf, made eye contact with Ash. She nodded at him before closing her eyes for the last time.

Tears filled Ash's eyes, which quickly became hot tears of rage as he let loose a primordial scream that tore through his throat.

"GIOVANNI!"

Ash became engulfed in his blue aura, and blasted everything and everyone; his rage knew neither friend nor foe.

Red had to return the rest of his Pokemon and make a mad dash for cover before he was hit. Ash's Charizard scooped up Lucario and Pikachu before flying for what little cover there was.

The rest of the grunts, they weren't so lucky. They were all destroyed. Every Rocket grunt and Pokemon disintegrated or mangled by the sheer amount and power of aura spheres Ash was throwing in every direction. The building, unable to move like living beings, was buffeted by Ash, and quickly fell. Even the ground within twenty yards wasn't exempt from his fury, and was torn and churned, like a chef kneading dough, leaving it a barren field of dirt. Eventually, Ash, tired from his rampage, fell to the ground, unconscious from exhaustion. His clothes were torn up, leaving him barely covered.

His warpath lasted forty five seconds.

"Oh, man..." Red emerged from cover, and was greeted with destruction and death.

Bodies, even parts or halves of bodies, were strewn about around Ash.

He looked around for Ash's Pokemon "Charizard? Pikachu? Lucario?"

He feared the worst until Charizard appeared, visibly drained with an equally tired Pikachu and Lucario on his back. They landed next to Ash, and began to check him for signs of life.

"Don't worry about him." Red assured them, as he too, knelt beside Ash "He's just wiped out. It's extremely taxing on the body to use that much aura in such a short amount of time. I've done this before, like when _we_ fought. He'll be fine with a couple hours rest. I've just never seen a rage that powerful before." He wiped his forehead "He has a ton of potential."

Red pulled two poke balls off of Ash's belt and used them to return Lucario and Pikachu. They were so tired and worried, that even Pikachu didn't resist being put back in his ball.

He picked Ash up and handed him to Charizard before climbing on himself "Sorry, I know you're tired, and I would ride Aero if he hadn't already fainted."

Charizard shook the apology aside with his head, and instead roared a question.

"Yeah, I know." Red patted him on the head "We'll go back to our FOB and wait for Meowth there. He knows protocol."

With a snort of content, Charizard expanded his wings and took off.

* * *

May's mouth was in danger of hitting the dirt. Meowth was in a similar state of disbelief and horror. The man with the blue aura just destroyed everything near him, after what she assumed were his Pokemon were murdered. As he fell to the ground, she saw that he was no longer properly clothed, but she still couldn't see him properly, as he was curled up on the ground. She watched as the other man reappeared, and then a Charizard, Pikachu, and Lucario come back. She heard them exchange words, but didn't really hear. She was looking at the man on the ground. The other man picked him up before giving him to the Charizard and returning the other two and climbing on it's back.

All of this processed with the mind of someone in shock.

But nothing was as shocking as what she saw next.

As the Charizard ready itself to fly away, it dipped its body slightly, giving May full view of the unconscious man before taking off. He looked extremely familiar, even though the raven black hair wasn't as unkempt as it once had been.

Meowth looked at her with fear, knowing there was nothing he could do anymore, before running away, presumably back to their FOB in the town of Rota.

'This is bad.' He thought as he ran 'The boss isn't gonna be happy.'

May just stared at the space where the Charizard was. He mind was reeling in shock and confusion

"Ash?"

* * *

 **A/N- Thanks for reading!**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N- Hey guys, how are you doing? Guess what? I'm done with heavy sports commitments, so I can write a lot more now! I've already got the next chapter written and it's submitted for beta reading, so expect it later today, tomorrow; soon.**

" **Speech" 'thoughts' '** _telepathy'_

 **Thanks to Flamewing98 for beta reading!**

 **Please enjoy and review.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

" _Breaking news_ : last night, in the city of Rota, the Royal Aura Resort was attacked by two men, with dozens of casualties and extensive damage to the immediate area. The manager of the resort says that it was an attempt to steal the resort's numerous Pokemon, and when the men were confronted on scene, they attacked the security team. The police arrived too late to catch the Pokemon thieves, and they managed to get away. However, the security team recognized the men, and their identities were confirmed with security cameras and footage; they were both witnessed using aura, a power thought to be lost to the world. The first man is the trainer known only as Red. He was the winner of the Indigo League and Silver Conference and he defeated the Kanto/Johto Elite Four and Lance, so he is known to be dangerous. The second criminal is a bit of a shock, the trainer who was thought to have been killed in an attack by Team Rocket, the Lily of the Valley Conference Champion: Ash Ketchum. They both have many very strong Pokemon, so be on your guard. These two are wanted for attempted robbery, attempted kidnapping of Pokemon, and mass murder. They murdered one hundred and forty three security guards and one hundred and eighty two Pokemon. Once again: these two are armed and extremely dangerous. For your own safety, please contact your nearest gym if you see either of these two men immediately."

* * *

"Ash isn't the bad guy!" Gary yelled in frustration, slamming his fists down on the metal table "My friend was there! She saw the whole thing, and she says that he was fighting Team Rocket!"

Gary and May were in the Rota police station, and Gary was trying to convince the police of what May saw. The rest of the gang was still at their hotel, probably sound asleep. Last night, before heading back to the FOB, Meowth had gone back to the hotel and grabbed the first one of May's friends he saw and dragged him back to May before leaving. He couldn't leave May in the state that she was. When Gary found her, she was still in shock from seeing Ash and the violence, and was soon crying in Gary's arms. As soon as May stopped crying, she told Gary what had happened, and he immediately took them to the police station. Once they arrived, the police immediately placed them in one of the interrogation rooms for questioning. The room was small, rectangular, and made of concrete, with only a table with one chair one one side and two chairs on the other, with May and Gary occupying the pair and a detective across from them. The only thing on the walls was a tinted window for the people and the observation room to see in, and the ceiling had two light bulbs hanging from it.

"Sir, please calm down." The detective sitting across from May and Gary, who had introduced himself as Looker, said with a faint edge to his tone "I can't and won't help you if you don't."

"Hmph." Gary grunted before sitting in his chair.

"Thank you." The detective pushed a small stack of paper across the table "Look at these photos that the security team at the resort sent us."

Gary hesitantly looked at the pile for a moment before picking it up and looking at the first photo. It was a picture of Ash and his partner shooting someone in tandem with their handguns. His eyes widened. It was definitely Ash all right, but Gary had never seen Ash so much as hurt anyone, let alone shoot them. Shuffling the photo to the back of the pile, what he saw next was even worse. It was Ash driving a knife into a man's skull with one hand and his other was imbedded in another's chest. The man's chest had a blue glow leaking from it, like Ash's hand was holding something glowing blue, maybe? He glanced up at May, who was looking at him with wide eyes. Even though she was there, it hadn't registered with her yet that Ash had been killing people. The realization came to her with quite a shock.

"Do you want to stop?" Gary put a hand on May's shoulder, attempting to comfort her "You don't have to look at these if you don't want to"

May shook her head; she hadn't said a word since she broke down in Gary's arms and told him what happened that night.

"Alright then…" Gary was unsure if May should be looking at the pictures of Ash. He was worried about her mental state, and that looking at pictures of the Ash she loved doing these violent things would be too much for her already damaged mind to handle. "If you're sure."

This continued for about five minutes; May and Gary looking over the photos, and every few Gary would stop and ask May if she wanted to continue. May would nod and the cycle would repeat.

When finished, Gary put both hands to his eyes and tried to rub the sleep away. He hadn't gotten any real rest the night before.

He stacked the photos back up and pushed them back towards the detective "Look, just because Ash is killing people doesn't necessarily make put him in the wrong. Last time I checked, it was legal to kill in self defense, and Team Rocket has always had a grudge against Ash."

Looker snorted "Team Rocket? Team Rocket has been dwindling in strength for the past few years. There has been no significant crimes committed by any Rockets since they bombed the Lily of the Valley Conference five years ago,"

May recoiled when Looker mentioned the Sinnoh League.  
"also, you would be hard pressed to convince me that Team Rocket owned the Royal Aura Resort." He raised an eyebrow inquisitively "Their whole goal is to steal Pokemon, right? Well, the Resort has plenty of Pokemon, so clearly there's no need to steal from them, if they are Team Rocket, because why would they steal from themselves?" He made a placatory gesture with his hands "They already have the Pokemon."

Gary's eyes glowered. Even if the police didn't believe May, he wouldn't for a moment believe that Ash could be the bad guy here. No way, Ash always had a reason for the stupid stunts he pulled.

Looker made eye contact with Gary as if daring him to tell him otherwise.

Abruptly, Gary stood up, shoving himself back from the table "Fine then." he turned to May "Come on, these guys won't be of any help. It looks like Ash is gonna be by himself on this one."

May shook her head and pointed to the cloaked man on the top photo on the stack standing next to Ash.

Gary rubbed his eyes once more "Oh yeah, he has a friend. Now let's go."

As they walked out the door Gary threw one last comment over his shoulder with a glare at the detective still sitting in across the table with his arms crossed stubbornly "At least he has someone willing to help him."

Looker kept his arms cross and bit back a retort with gritted teeth.

Ignoring Gary, he turned to May "Thank you for your help with this investigation ma'am. Your testimony will be brought into consideration.

* * *

Gary and May walked back to their suite in the Resort, tired and angry from their encounter with the police.

"Thank you for your help ma'am." Gary mocked with a pinched nasally voice "Your testimony will be brought into consideration. I still sleep with my stuffed Teddiursa wrapped in my arms ma'am. What a jerk."

May, who spent the walk listening to Gary rant while staring at the ground in front of them, nodded.

Gary looked over at May and let out a long sigh, more out of frustration than sadness, then put his arm around her "I'm sorry May."

May nodded once again and held onto Gary's arm, desperate for comfort.

The rest of the walk was quiet, both deep in thought and emotions. Nocturnal Pokemon occasionally passed by, but never made contact. The resort's Pokemon had become very attuned to human emotions.

The pair made it back to their respective suite rooms, having to walk up two flights of stairs to get there. Their building was in a beautiful spot; it was at the edge of the block of hotels and overlooked the lake and was surrounded by forest. It was right next to nature. The resort, which was a small complex of rectangular hotels adjacent to the guest service buildings and areas, such as the spa, greenhouse, gym, battling arena, and of course, the poke-park, was located on roughly forty acres of land on the mainland, and had a great view of the castle town due to the close proximity.

May and the girl's room was the closest to the stairway, so Gary waited for her to enter her room before he went to his. However, he only made it halfway to his room before May stuck her head back out again and spoke for the first time since last night with wide eyes "Gary, no one is in here."

Gary did a double take "What?" He ran over to her "It's barely even six o'clock!"

He stuck his head in the door and turned on the light; true to what May said, the room was empty. Gary looked around and took note of the three beds in a row "Hm, the beds are messy, so they were definitely using them at some point." He started to pace "We were at the Meowth Casino and Spa last night, I think until one o'clock 'ish, so they should still be asleep with only about five hours of rest." Especially these girls. They usually get about eight to nine hours of sleep, so what gives?"

May stood in the doorway hugging herself, clearly agitated. She didn't know what to do; her mind already run ragged from the earlier events and her lack of sleep that night.

Gary turned to her "Let's go check on the guys next door." Inside, Gary was terrified for May. She didn't need anymore drama, and he was unsure what would happen if her little brother was missing. He had been really quiet lately, because he was worried about May, and because he was still underage to be in a casino, being only sixteen, he had stayed in last night and watched Pokemon battles on TV.

Gary took May by the arm as he walked out the door and down the hall to his room. He stopped in front of the door, and was about to open it when he heard murmuring and what sounded like the TV.

'Thank goodness' Gary thought "May, I think I hear them in here watching TV or something."

May closed her eyes in relief "Good."

Gary reached for the door handle, but his hand stopped short, thinking to himself so as not to alarm May 'But, what in Arceus' name would they be watching at,' he glanced at his watch 'six eleven in the morning, after a night out no less?'

Shrugging, he lowered his hand the rest of the way and opened the door 'Must be pretty interesting.'

Opening the door revealed the whole gang watching the TV set in front of the three beds. Max was sitting on the bed furthest from the door, with Brock next to him in the middle bed, and Dawn was sitting on the bed closest to the door, which belonged to Gary. Misty sat in a chair that had been dragged into position in front and to the left of Brock's bed.

They were all staring at the television, and Misty and Brock were quietly talking to each other.

Everyone was wide eyed, as if they were unable to believe something, but the evidence was being presented right in front of their faces.

Dawn turned to face the door the fastest, and jumped up at seeing Gary and May "Gary!" She threw herself at him and Gary caught her in his arms "I'm so glad you two are alright"

Everyone else looked up in surprise before quickly following Dawn's lead. While hugs were given and relief expressed, Max turned off the TV before May could see it and then joined everyone else.

Moments later, after everyone had settled down a little, They all gathered around the two as they explained where they had been.

May started with her part "Well, last night I was having some trouble sleeping, so I decided to take a walk to clear my head and to see some of the cute Pokemon. I saw a Marill, an Oddish, and a Meowth. The first two ran away when I shooed them, but the Meowth decided to stick with me. A few minutes later, I thought I heard a man scream, but it was just the Meowth. We found a pond and I lied down on the grass for a while before I fell asleep. I was woken up by this amazingly loud racket, and I ran over to see what it was with the Meowth and I saw a huge fight going on. I saw two men fighting a large group, and the two men were throwing aura balls, just like Ash could, except one's was red instead of blue."

To her surprise, no one seemed especially shocked by that. Gary noticed it too, and got a bad feeling.

May continued "Unfortunately, I couldn't see the two men's faces because they were wearing hoods, but I recognized the people they were fighting; Team Rocket. I watched for a while, and eventually I saw a guy sneak out to where a bunch of Pokemon were chained together to some weird machine. After a few minutes, a blue glow shot out of the machine and the Pokemon started to thrash. One of the two aura users tried to make his way to the Pokemon, but didn't make it, and they all died."

Everyone gasped at that one. Pokemon beating each other until one fainted was commonplace, but rarely were Pokemon killed.

The bad feeling in Gary grew.

May's gaze turned to the ceiling "The man went berserk. He exploded in what I assume was aura, and basically demolished everything around him, even the terrain and then passed out. The other aura user came out of a hiding spot behind a boulder, and a Charizard, Lucario, and Pikachu landed next to the unconscious user. He recalled the Lucario and Pikachu before taking off with the unconscious man on the Charizard." She paused and looked at the people around her "But just before they took off, I got a good look at the unconscious man's face, and I recognized him." She took a deep breath and everyone looked at her with oddly calm expressions "It was Ash!"

No one said anything. May looked around, confused. Why was no one reacting? She was shocked that Ash was still alive, why weren't they?

May opened her mouth to ask the question, but Gary cut her off "A little bit after this, the Meowth came and found me as I was taking my own walk and took me to May, who was in shock after seeing all of this."

May gave Gary a funny look, but Gary ignored her. He had heard a bit of the conversation in the room and what was on the TV. It didn't mean anything substantial when he heard it, but it made sense now.

'You didn't tell them much new, did you?' He thought before continuing. All eyes had shifted to him. Brock rolled his shoulders, with an uncomfortable expression on his face. Misty clutched her pillow, and Dawn had pulled her arms around her legs. Only Max still maintained his cool facade, or so it seemed because his head was slightly lowered.

"After I found May, I rushed her to the police station, where we told them May's story." Gary stood up and looked at the black screened television "They didn't believe us, and we came straight back here." He looked up at everyone "They say that Ash and his partner were trying to rob the Royal Aura Resort and that everyone they killed were a part of the security team. But you all already knew that, didn't you?"

May started with surprise "What? Is that why no one seemed surprised when I said Ash was alive?"

Brock nodded slowly "Yes, we saw it on the news. It's all they're covering."

Gary rubbed his chin "How did you wake up to see this? You were all dead asleep."

Max's demeanor shifted, showing discomfort as he rubbed his hands together "My PokéNav beeped an alert and it woke me up. I woke up Brock and showed him, he got everyone else up, and we watched it together."

Dawn chimed in "We were worried about you two, however it seems we weren't worried enough. The news is saying what the police told you."

May sighed with relief "Okay, good. So you guys weren't surprised because you already knew about Ash. I was afraid it was because you guys didn't care about him anymore."

Everyone shifted uneasily and exchanged glances.

Misty spoke up for the group "Well, May, it's kind of like that." May looked at her with confusion and slight alarm "You see, we did already know that Ash was alive. However…" She suddenly became very interested with her hands.

Brock jumped in to help her "However, we all believe the police and the news. We think Ash attacked the Resort with a partner to try and rob it, and murdered all of those men. We all saw the footage."

May froze, but Brock only confirmed what Gary was feeling.

"So, you all believe strangers about this rather than May about someone we all consider a best friend? He raised his voice "That Ash somehow changed from the kid we all knew him as to some sort of murdering criminal?"

Dawn stood up and put her arms around him "Gary, come on, calm down. Don't shout, we have neighbors."

"Come on Gary, look at the facts. The men they attacked were in security uniforms because they worked for the resort. Calm down, and hear us out!" Max tried to help Dawn.

Gary shook himself out of Dawn's embrace, enraged "Calm down? I can't believe this!" His voice raised to a yell "This is a betrayal to Ash!" He knocked his chair over "I've known Ash for as long as I can remember, and I know him better than that! All of you should too!" He accidentally knocked Dawn to the ground as he shook her off and she landed on the ground beside the middle bed.

"Whoa!" Brock jumped to his feet and grabbed Gary roughly by the arm and looked him in the eyes as Dan stood up "Okay Gary, it's time for you to calm down!"

Gary slapped Brock's hand off of his arm with enough force to hurt "Shut up Brock! You're a traitor, and I don't want anything to do any of you!"

Brock recoiled, shocked that Gary hit him. His visioned reddened as his anger, in part caused by fatigue and an overwhelm of emotions from the morning's events, drove himself at Gary, slamming a fist into his stomach. As Gary doubled over wheezing, everyone else jumped to their feet.

"Brock!" Misty and Dawn shouted in alarm.

Brock and Gary were now going at it in the middle of the room, punches were thrown, feet were kicked. Both were driven by their anger and they used it to fuel their attacks.

Max tried to break them up "What the heck, guys!" He attempted to hold Brock back, but Brock was far too big for him and Max was pushed aside "Oomph!"

Gary threw a left hook at Brock's rib cage, which Brock blocked with his forearm and used the opening to hit him with a hit to the ribs of his own. Gary stumbled back, then threw himself into Brock, sending the two over the chair that Gary had knocked over, smashing it with a loud crack. Gary rolled over onto Brock's mid-torso and started throwing punches; a punch to the mouth which drew some blood, two to the ribs, and one into his upper gut. Brock took it for a moment before catching Gary's hand and smashing his fist into Gary's face. Gary fell backwards clutching his eye, which was already starting to darken and swell.

Suddenly, a pair of vines shot towards the two, and a vine wrapped them both up and forced them apart and to stay still. Everyone looked to where the vines came from and saw May with her Bulbasaur, tears dripping down her face and a fist clenched at her chest.

"Stop it you two!" She cried "It's bad enough having Ash be alive but out of reach, so we don't need to be fighting amongst ourselves!"

The two men looked down in shame, their adrenaline wearing off as they sat in Bulbasaur's grip.

Silence dominated the room for the next few minutes, as emotions calmed down and rational thought returned before a gentle nudge from May had Bulbasaur release the fighters.

"I'm sorry Gary." Brock said as he stood up, holding the collar of his shirt to his bleeding lip with his left hand "I don't know what came over me." He held out his right hand "I started this. I apologize."

Gary had a hand on his eye, but his good one was looking at Brock's hand tiredly "It's okay. I forgive you. I guess I shouldn't have been rough in the first place." He turned to Dawn who fidgeted when he turned his attention to her "I'm sorry Dawn." He held up his arms. Dawn nodded and met his embrace.

May returned Bulbasaur "No more fighting."

The peace was kept for now.

* * *

Light spilled through the cracks in his eyes.

"Ash?"

He heard his name, but couldn't place exactly who it was who spoke.

"Ash."

His eyes opened. Nothing. He couldn't tell where he was, or what had happened the night before. His memory was as blurry as his vision; his only memory was of rage so powerful that everything else seemed minor in comparison. He felt confused, trying to grasp what was at the tip of his tongue, but... nothing; he was too groggy.

"Ash!"

He felt a strong slap across his cheeks. With it came a torrent of memories and his vision, flooding him with sorrow once more, the strike having jarred him from his foggy mindset. He remembered last night's events. As Ash sat up, mind in overdrive with the painful memories, the exhaustion took its toll, and he slumped back down again.

They sat in a cave in a forest, not far from Rota, only a few miles out. Red's original intention was to head back to Mt. Silver, but Ash couldn't handle the rigors of flying, so Red was forced to land and find a place for Ash to recover. It was a small cave, maybe forty feet deep and ten feet tall. It was dark and cold; Red didn't start a fire for fear of the smoke giving away their position.

Ash was lying on his back on the ground; Red was sitting cross legged beside him. Lucario and Pikachu were standing a few feet away.

"Ugh." He groaned.

Red smiled "Oh, good, you're finally awake." He stretched "I had to pump you with some aura to make up for some that you lost. My aura's not powerful enough to replenish it completely though, so you'll need to rest for awhile." His smile waned "You almost died, you know. You went berserk, and almost killed yourself using so much aura at once. Your body's not used to that big of a flow at once."

Ash shook his head, trying to dispel the exhaustion and grief all at once "How… How long was I out? And what really happened last night?" He lightly slapped himself a few times "I think my mind is telling me crazy things. I think it's just some crazy aura depletion side effect."

Red grimaced "Um, for the first question, you've only been out for about a day. It's about noonish the day after." He fidgeted slightly.

Ash nodded "And last night?"

Red took a deep breath "Well, what do you remember?"

Ash looked up "I remember that," his heart sank a little deeper "that all of my Pokemon were killed... did that really happen, Red?" He looked at Red with watering eyes.

Red stood up, not quite sure how to approach the matter "Well..." He decided straightforward honesty was the best path "Yes. All of it. None of your Pokemon survived."

Red drew a quick breath and looked down at Ash. Ash wasn't moving, his face frozen like ice. He started to shake, slowly at first, but the pace quickened. Soon, he was curled up in a ball, sobbing. Red just stood there, unsure of what to do in this situation. He had never had to deal emotional distress that wasn't either his or one of his Pokemon's before. He stood there for a few minutes, thinking just his presence would be all the support he could give, when Mewtwo appeared next to him with a bright flash. He bent down over Ash and briefly touched a finger to his forehead. Ash's sobs immediately quieted, as sleep overcame him.

Red nodded to Mewtwo "Thanks. I was kinda at a loss for what to do."

' _It was nothing.'_ Mewtwo said as he stood back up ' _He needs rest badly.'_

' _He will take some time to recover.'_ Lucario added ' _Your aura jump started the process some, but he should recover without any more assistance. He is strong. It would be unwise to move him until he has recovered, however. His body is focused solely on recovering aura. It cannot take anything else, and it could cause extreme damage to his body, maybe even kill him. This is the danger of using all of your aura at once.'_

Red was curious "So why didn't he take extreme damage or die when we moved to here?"

' _Because his body was still functioning on the adrenaline from the aura. Immediately after the event was our only window for moving him. That was why you noticed him in discomfort while you were flying: the adrenaline was wearing off and his body needed rest.'_

"Makes sense." Red looked down at Ash's sleeping form "Is it just me, or does you guys sense it too?"

Mewtwo and Lucario glanced at him inquisitively ' _What do you mean?' /_ ' _Please elaborate.'_

"I mean, I sense more power in him than before." He scratched his head "Well, not really 'power', but, I don't know, stronger, I guess."

Mewtwo nodded ' _Yes, I sense that too.'_

Lucario explained ' _It is because of his outburst last night. To put it in understandable terms, it is much like not getting enough to eat for a few days. Your stomach will shrink when it is only used a small amount of nourishment so you have to cope with less hunger, and when you finally eat a large meal, it will expand again. My master has gone many years without using aura because he was largely unaware of his power, so his reserves have shrunk, but when he used the tremendous amount he did last night, it greatly increased his reserves. Right now, he is low on aura because he used so much at once, but his capabilities are much larger now that he has expanded his "stomach", or in this case, his aura reserve.'_

All four beings stared at Ash.

"So what you're saying is that Ash is now way more powerful with his aura than before." It was more a comment than question.

' _Yes.'_

Red laughed "That will be helpful now that we're on the run from both Team Rocket and probably the police, too."

Pikachu's ears twitched, and he looked to the mouth of the cave "Pi pikachu pi!"

Lucario, Mewtwo, and Red all closed their eyes. Mewtwo spoke first ' _Your ears are finely tuned, Pikachu. I sense at least one hundred men, in helicopters it seems.'_

Red opened his eyes "I sense it too."

Lucario stepped defensively in front of Ash ' _It seems you were correct about the police being after you.'_

Mewtwo and Red walked to the mouth of the cave and looked out. On the horizon, ten helicopters were visible, all on vector for the cave entrance.

' _How did they find us?'_ Mewtwo growled ' _I did not sense anyone near us the whole time.'_

Red crouched down and pulled some binoculars out of his bag "Probably a Pokemon scout." He used the binoculars to view the helicopters "The police have started using them lately because people always assume that Pokemon by themselves are just wild."

Mewtwo shook his head ' _I made that mistake then. We are in the forest; I assumed all the Pokemon around us belonged to no trainer. I will not make the same mistake again.'_

"Don't worry too much about it." Red zoomed in on the lead helicopter and saw the symbol for the Kanto police on it "And at least it's not Team Rocket. I see the Kantoan mark on the lead helicopter."

' _What is your plan? To fight?'_

Red made a negative gesture with his hands as he put his binoculars away "No, fighting would just get us in more trouble than we already are, and I try to not kill innocent people whenever I have the option to not."

' _Then shall I teleport us away?'_

Red weighed the risk for a moment "If Ash dies because we move him, then what good was it?" He stood up and headed back into the cave "No, I'll stay here with him and make sure he's okay. You take all of our Pokemon with you and meet us when possible."

Mewtwo's eyes widened in surprise as he followed Red ' _You plan on being captured by the authorities? I can not imagine that it will end well for you two.'_

Red sat down by the sleeping Ash "Don't worry, I can call you with my psychic powers. Just stay somewhat near us for when I get the opportunity to call to you."

' _I do not like this plan.' Mewtwo said 'I do not trust the other humans. I trust Ash, and since he trusts you, I can make a second allowance for now. But the humans who will take you, I do not trust with your well being.'_

" _Pika!"_

' _Pikachu and I agree.' Lucario agreed 'Also, I do not wish to leave my Master's side.'_

"Do either of you have a better idea?"

The three Pokemon thought for a frustrating moment, before shaking their heads. Red had the only viable plan.

"Well then," He made a shooing motion with this hands "get going. The police will be here in a few minutes. Especially you, Mewtwo. Team Rocket would most likely find a way to get their hands on you if you were subdued." Red reached over to where Ash's bag was lying and picked it up before handing it and his bag to Mewtwo.

Mewtwo took the bags and Pikachu and Lucario went to stand next to him.

Red laid back "All of our Pokemon are in their balls in our bags. Now go. I don't even want them to see any of you."

Mewtwo's hands glowed purple as he readied to teleport ' _Good luck, and stay safe. As soon as you can, call to me. I will be there immediately.'_

' _Best wishes, Master Red.'_

"Pika, pikachu!"

Red crossed his arms behind his head "I will Mewtwo, don't worry."

In a flash of light, Mewtwo disappeared along with Lucario and Pikachu.

Red blew a raspberry, then waited for the police to take them into custody.

* * *

" _Breaking news_ : We've just received word that the suspects of the attack on the Royal Aura Resort have just been apprehended. They were found hiding out in the forest three miles away from Rota in a cave. No Pokemon were found on the scene, which leads the police to believe that the criminals stashed them somewhere so they wouldn't be taken. They have men searching for the Pokemon right now. The suspect Ash Ketchum was unconscious when the police arrived, and was taken without any trouble. His partner, Red, did not resist arrest. He did, however, pants three officers with what appears to be psychic powers while he was being loaded into a police chopper. They will be held with special restrictions due to their power, thought we weren't told what those restrictions are, while they await their trial. With the amount of evidence stacked against them, it surely will not be a long one. More on this, tonight at ten."

* * *

 **A/N- Thanks for sticking around. Don't forget to review!**

 **See y'all later**

 **DarkLucario98**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N- Chapter 13, on time! I know it didn't come out the few days after that I said it would, but hey, Flamewing's a busy guy, and you can't blame him for life.**

 **"Speech" 'Thought' ' _Telepathy'_**

 **Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter 13

"Uh, my head." Ash sat up clutching his head with both hands. He rubbed his eyes before shaking the fatigue away and looked around "Well, crap."

Ash was in a small jail cell, and he could see Red in an identical one just across the room, only about ten feet away from his cell. They looked completely normal except for the cuffs that were used to bind them to their beds by their ankles; they used the same kind of plasma that Team Rocket used to hold Mewtwo, which meant that the two would be unable to use their powers to escape. However, unlike Mewtwo's chains, these weren't self sustaining, as Ash deduced from the thick cables running from them to the wall and attached to the cuffs.

The cells were about 10 feet by ten feet, enough room for a rough cot, toilet, and sink, but nothing more. There were no one else in sight, and theirs was the only pair of cells in the room.

'Hm,' Ash thought of a plan to escape immediately 'I can definitely break those cables now that I feel up to full strength again.' Ash started and his eyes widened 'Whoa, I feel _way_ stronger than I did before. Before...'

The previous events rushed back into Ash's mind. His eyes started to water, but he quickly shook them away. He had already grieved, and any more would dishonor his Pokemon's memories. He took a deep breath to compose himself.

'Anyway,' Ash thought to himself, refocusing on their escape 'those cables will be easy to break with this much power, then I'll bust these cell bars apart and get Red out. Once that's done, escaping should be a cinch. This is clearly a police prison, not a Rocket one, so we should be careful to not kill anyone.'

He nodded to himself, satisfied with his plan. He leaned in the direction of Red's cell to voice his plan. Red was lying down on his cot with his arms behind his head "Hey Red, I've got an idea."

Red cut him off "No, we can't break out and escape."

Ash paused, taking a moment to make sure he had heard Red correctly "What do you mean? We've got to get out of here!"

Red sat up and looked at Ash "Clearly, you've seen these cuffs, right?" he pointed to the cuffs that were attached to his ankles.

"Yeah."

"Well, these aren't like the one's Team Rocket used on Mewtwo. You see how they've got cables?

Ash nodded.

"These kind of restraint cuffs are used on people that they don't really care if they live or die. The cables serve two functions: to power the plasma in the cuffs and if the flow of plasma is disturbed, to signal for something, probably explosives to go off and kill the wearer."

Ash looked dumbfoundedly at them "I wouldn't think that the police would allow that kind of device."

"They made a special exception for us."

"Well then." Ash laid back down with an exasperated sigh "What do we do?"

"We wait. When someone with a key comes in here, I can contact Mewtwo with my psychic powers, he'll teleport in and I'll have him grab the key and free us. Then we all teleport out of here."

"What happened to all of our Pokemon after I passed out? Do the police have them?"

"No, don't worry. I had Mewtwo take them all when he went to hide. He's waiting for me to contact him. I have no idea where he is though."

Ash grunted in frustration "So we just have to sit and wait?"

Red tapped his fingers melodically and hummed a yes in response.

Ash stared at the ceiling, annoyed with himself for letting his anger get the best of him and putting them into this situation in the first place. Of course, he didn't regret the immediate outcome of his rage, but the consequences were unfortunate. He continued to reflect on this for about five minutes until Red broke the silence.

"I'm bored. Wanna play I spy?"

* * *

May, and the gang stopped at the front desk of the police station. Everyone was stressed out, but they all wanted to see the man who they thought was lost to them. Even some of the friends Ash hadn't seen for a long time before he disappeared had showed up after being called by Brock, Misty, and Dawn. Ritchie was there, along with Barry, Tracey, and surprisingly, Paul who had made up with Ash after Ash had defeated him in the Sinnoh League, and the two quickly became friends after Paul dropped his rude attitude. All of Ash's friends had gotten calls, but these were the only ones who were anywhere close enough to make it. Unfortunately, they had been briefed by Brock, Misty, Dawn, and Max before May and Gary could, so they all thought to some degree that Ash was the guilty party.

May especially was nervous. She was desperate to know if Ash still felt the same way about her. Now that she knew that he had been alive for the last five years, she suddenly felt very self conscience about her reaction to his 'death'. She knew that there was no way that she could have known that he wasn't really dead, but that's just how she felt. Regardless of that, she needed to see him one more time, since he would probably be spending the rest of his life in prison at the very least.

"Hello, what can I do for you all?" The receptionist asked as she gave the group a smile.

"Hello," Brock said, seizing the role of the de facto leader of the group, something he did quite often "we were wondering if we could visit a prisoner."

"Sure thing." She looked at her computer "What is the prisoner's name?"

"Ash Ketchum."

The receptionist looked at the group in surprise before maintaining her cool exterior "Um, okay." She typed something into the computer and reached down in one of her desk drawers to pull out a piece of paper on a clipboard with a pen attached to it by a string "If I could have you all put your signatures on this sign in sheet please, someone will be along shortly to escort you to the prisoner's cell."

One by one, everyone signed it. By time the last person, Ritchie, had signed it, their escort had already arrived.

"Hello everyone." The man wore a black trench coat with a dark brown vest and matching pants. Underneath, her wore a white button up shirt with a dark purple tie "Please follow me." Everyone followed him is he took them to a door to the left. He opened the door for them and once they were all through, he shut it behind him. The room was clearly a break room; it had a fridge, microwave, sink, two small sofas and even a small television set. However, no one appeared to be taking a break, so it was empty save all of them. They stood in the middle of the room, confused, so they waited for the man to speak first.

He turned to face them after shutting the door "Why do you all want to see Ash Ketchum?"

With that, everyone understood. They figured beforehand that it wouldn't be that easy to just visit someone accused of mass murder when he was a known aura user. They were more surprised when the receptionist made it seem like they could visit with a simple sign in sheet.

"Because he's our friend, and we want to see him." A certain feisty redhead retorted.

"Plus, we haven't seen him in over five years." Ritchie threw a look at Misty "We want to see for ourselves how he's changed."

The man scrutinized the group for a moment before his eyes landed on Dawn and Brock "Hm, you two look familiar."

Dawn rubbed the back of her head "We do? Have we met before?"

The man nodded "Yes, I remember. I met you two along with Ash on the train to Lake Acuity, then later on Mt. Coronet."

Brock gave him a once over "Oh yeah, I remember. You're Detective Looker, right?"

Looker nodded again "I am." He sighed "Well, I was originally planning on not letting you all see him, but since you two helped me with Team Galactic, I suppose I can make an exception; I feel like I can trust you two. I have no reason not to, unlike Ash."

May and Gary stiffened at the slight, but no one else seemed to even notice it. They didn't say anything, however, because they didn't want to lose their chance to see Ash.

"Alright," Looker grunted as he opened the door once more "I'll take you all to see Ash."

Everyone filed out of the room once more, and once Looker took the lead again, followed him. He lead them across the reception area again, but this time took a pair of doors to the right. Inside the doors was an elevator.

"Everyone in here." Looker motioned to the elevator and the gang complied, Looker following them in. As the doors closed, he pressed a button marked with a B and the elevator descended. When the doors opened with a ding, Looker walked out and down the hallway that lay in front of them. As the gang walked behind him, they looked around. It looked like a normal basement; and it was. There a few doors on the wall, most marked storage, but other than that, only a door at the end of the hallway was visible. Looker led them through that door which revealed a room with about ten cells, five on each side. Only the first two were being used. They stopped in front of the cell on the left, and a sleeping Ash chained to his bed with strange cuffs could be seen between the gaps in the bars.

Looker banged on those bars with his fist "Ketchum, wake up! You have visitors!"

For a moment, it seemed like that didn't wake him, but then Ash's arms stretched in the air before he sat up with his eyes still closed. He rubbed the, and yawned, stretching his arms once more before opening his eyes halfway. Once he saw his friends, his eyes quickly snapped open, and his mouth hung open in shock. They reacted in a similar way, eyes wide as they caught their breath.

Looker's gaze went from Ash to his friends "You all don't have all day."

Max snapped out of it first and he ran up to the bars and grabbed them "Ash! I can't believe it's you! I haven't seen you in so long and I've missed you so much! We never got to battle!"

Ash just stared, unsure of what to say and afraid of what his friends might.

Brock walked up to Max and put a hand on his shoulder. Max looked up at him before remembering where they were and why they were there. His hands dropped from the bars and he took a step back, head down. Ash looked at all his friend's faces: Max, Brock, Tracey, Dawn, Misty, Gary, Ritchie, Barry, Paul, May.

May.

Ash's heart nearly stopped. She was just as beautiful as he remembered her, only more so. She met his eyes, and she seemed to almost be in tears. That broke Ash's heart and he wanted nothing more than to get up and comfort her, but he turned to Brock as he started to speak.

"Ash," Brock started slowly "while I would love to start with a greeting like Max's, I feel like we need to know some things first."

Gary looked at Brock like he was insane, already knowing what was on his mind and not believing that he would bring it up like this.

"What?" Ash responded lamely before mentally kicking himself 'The first time you see them in years and the first thing they hear from you is what.'

Brock took a deep breath "Did you attack the Resort with intent to steal? Why did you murder all of those people?"

His words knocked Ash out of his stupor "What? Of course I didn't try to steal from the resort! You know me Brock, I'm not a thief!"

Misty spoke up "Did you murder all those people?"

Ash looked at her "Huh?"

Misty struggled to respond "I said, did you murder all those people?"

"Answer honestly Ash." Dawn told him, though she seemed to have as much trouble as Misty "We've all seen the footage, and it doesn't look good."

"Well…" Ash couldn't think of what to say. He knew that he did, but he had good reason to "Yes, but I had no choice! They were going to kill us!"

May nodded "It's true, Team Rocket was going to kill them!"

"Not this again," Looker shook his head "There's absolutely no proof of that. The Royal Aura Resort has no ties to Team Rocket whatsoever."

Ash's heart sunk as he realized his mistake. May had inadvertently taken away his defense. Now, if he tried to blame Team Rocket, it would seem as though he was just going along with what May said. If he wanted to be believable, he should have mentioned them straight off the bat. Now it was going to be a lot harder to convince them.

"I know this will look weak, but yes, it was Team Rocket. They had my and my partner's Pokemon, and we had to get them back."

Red lifted a hand to the group in greeting, uncomfortable with speaking in front of strangers to him, but especially Detective Looker. No one noticed him.

"That seems unlikely." Ritchie said, giving voice to Ash's fear "What with all the evidence against you."

Gary decided it was time Ash got some help "Guys, come on! We've all known Ash for a long time, and I for one refuse to believe that he would do all this! Sure, he killed those people, but May corroborates his story!"

Max nodded "Well, at first, it was hard to ignore the evidence, but it's even harder to believe it when Ash himself is here to defend himself."

Misty mumbled some sort of agreement while May looked at her brother with pride. Even Barry, Ritchie, and Paul looked satisfied with Max's reasoning.

"He's not wrong." Paul said.

"That _is_ true." Tracey agreed.

"I've changed my mind too." Dawn said "This is Ash we're talking about. He'd never even hurt a fly!"

Brock seemed to be the only one still on the fence "I don't know you guys, we haven't seen him for five years. I've seen people completely change in less. I'm afraid that I'll need a bit more before I believe him."

May gasped "Brock! How can you say that! Everyone else sees the truth now, why don't you?"

Ash sighed and ran his hand through his hair "I don't know what to say, Brock. Other than it really hurts that you don't believe your old friend."

Brock's face seemed undeterred "Sorry Ash. When both my parents left, it became really hard for me to trust so easily. I know you can understand that because of your father."

Ash thought for a moment "Brock, I don't have anything to say that can prove without a doubt that what I say is true. However, I can remind you of everything that I've been through with you all."

Brock looked surprised as Ash admitted he had no evidence.

"We traveled together through Kanto, the Orange Archipelago, Johto, Hoenn, Kanto again, then Sinnoh. We saved the world together many times. Remember Shamouti Island? Mount Quenna? How about when we stopped the Unown, Celebi from being kidnapped, saved Latias and Latios from Annie and Oakley, Jirachi from being stolen? Or when we helped Deoxys, revived the Tree of Beginning, saved the Temple of the Sea and Manaphy? Don't forget when we saved Alamos town, Shaymin, Arceus, and Zoroark." Everyone's eyes teared up as they were reminded of their past adventures with Ash. Misty thought about Shamouti Island when she rescued him from the ocean, only to have him immediately rush back out to stop Lawrence III. Tracey also thought about Shamouti Island, but when he and Misty revived Ash after she had pulled him out. Ritchie was flooded with memories about when they had been kidnapped by Team Rocket and had to work together so they could battle in the Indigo League. Max remembered Jirachi, who still remained one of the best friends he had ever made, and how hard Ash fought to protect him. May remembered the Temple of the Sea and how Ash had softly lowered her alongside Pikachu and Manaphy into a capsule so that they could survive while he ran back in to replace the crystals on the Sea Crown. Dawn's mind filled with thoughts of when Ash went back into the Reverse World by himself after Zero. Gary hadn't been present for any of those events, but he remembered his interactions with Ash when they were younger, and regretted how he had treated him. Paul remembered how he Ash had taught him to treat his Pokemon well by beating him in the Sinnoh League. Barry hadn't known Ash as long as anyone else, but they had been inspired by his enthusiasm, and it was something they missed. Even Red was at loss for words; he and Ash had never discussed their pasts in detail, and it seemed that there was more to the raven haired trainer than meets the eye. Brock saw all of these things alongside Ash minus the mishap with Ritchie and the Orange Islands, but he had always been there for him,  
and the same was for Ash. His hesitance crumbled as Ash continued.

"I've always done my best to make sure that you guys were safe; that was always my top priority, alongside saving the world. I don't have anything to prove what I say, but I hope that my past actions can convince you of my sincerity. You guys are the most important people in the world to me, and I wouldn't lie to you. You're all family to me."

Brock nodded, tears dripping down his face. He was beating himself up on the inside, how could he have ever doubted his friend?

"You're right, Ash." He wiped his eyes with the corner of his sleeve "You've never been anything but loyal, and it's time I repaid the favor."

A huge smile broke out on Ash's face. Even though he couldn't get off of his cot to go to the bars, he reached a hand out to them. Everyone rushed to the bars and they started crying together, happy to be back together. Even Paul's eyes were wet, though he wasn't really crying as hard as everyone else.

The door to the hallway opened and the front desk receptionist walked in, holding a manila folder up to her chest. No one noticed her except Looker and Red; the rest were too engrossed with their reunion. She hurried to Looker and handed him the folder before whispering something in his ear then she rushed back out. Being near the two prisoners made her nervous. Looker opened the folder and removed the paper inside of it. He thumbed through them, his attention solely on their contents. A large smile broke out over his face when he lowered the paper. Red frowned; he had a bad feeling about this, and his gut was usually right.

"Ash." Looker said, breaking up the trainer's reunion. All eyes were on him "Can you smooth talk your way out of this?" He threw the folder to Brock, who caught it with a look of surprise on his face. As he opened it and read the first bit, the surprise quickly turned to fury.

When he spoke, it was deadly calm "Ash, you say you were fighting Team Rocket?"

Confused by the turn of events, Ash responded "Yes, that's right."

Brock thrust the paper against the bars of the cell, and bellowed, his voice reverberating off of the concrete walls that lined the room "Then how do you explain this!"

Ash squinted, unable to see the paper clearly from his cot, but he could make it out well enough, and he didn't like what he saw. It was a security photo of Ash in a Team Rocket uniform looting a vault with Domino, Pikachu guarding some knocked out men with a Lucario and an Absol standing next to him. Ash remembered the raid, as he did all of his "exploits" with Team Rocket. This one was fairly recently, maybe about a year ago.

"Brock, it's not what you think!"

"Not what I think!? How could this be anything but!?" He turned around to the rest of the group, who were worriedly curious about the sheet's contents. Brock handed the photo to Max to look at with everyone else while he began to read another paper's contents "This photo has been recovered from the security cameras of Hoenn Jewelers. The suspects have been clearly ID'd, the male being Ash Ketchum, and the female is the known Rocket agent Domino. They had wiped the system before they left, but after a year of recovery work, this photo came up. This not only suggests that Ketchum has been with Team Rocket in his absence from the world, but finally uncovers the perpetrators of this crime, who had killed one person in the robbery!"

Ash shook his hands wildly in front of his face "Brock, I can explain everything, and that guy's death was a total accident! It haunts me to this day! We tried to get him to calm down, but he wouldn't and tripped and fell over a balcony, there was nothing we could do for him!"

Unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears. Everyone except Brock and Looker were looking at the photo, dumbstruck.

"Ash... I don't know what to say to you." Tracy said softly.

Ash was starting to panic "Guys, I have a good reason for joining Team Rocket! They threatened to kill my Pokemon, and to prove it, they shot Jessie and James and then Giovanni smashed Gible in his pokeball! I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice!"

Silence dominated the room for a few moment as his words sunk in.

"If that's true, then why didn't you say that in the first place?" Dawn asked very softly.

"What?" Ash couldn't quite make out her words.

"I said, if that's true, then why didn't you say that in the first place!" Dawn screamed, tears flowing freely down her face.

"Well, I-I didn't want to bring it up." Ash said in his defense "I'm ashamed of my time with them and want to-"  
"Shut up Ash Ketchum!" Misty yelled at him "I don't believe a word you're saying!" Misty was crying in anger, unable to even recognize the man who used to be her friend "You never even gave us substantial proof about the attack on the resort!"

"I don't appreciate being lied to." Paul muttered darkly with some venom.  
"Yeah!" Max wiped his nose, which was wet with tears too "You just used the past to butter us up and trick us! I'll bet you just wanted to get close to us again so we would help you get off the hook and then steal our Pokemon!"

"If that's true, I'm going to fine you until you're broke!" Barry steamed.

Ash shook his head desperately "No, guys, I promise! We were attacking the resort to try and get our Pokemon back! Seriously! Right when we were about to do it, Team Rocket had all of my old Pokemon killed, right in front of my eyes!"

But once again, no one listened; his old friends felt too angry and betrayed to listen to him any more. Only May was silent, because she was afraid of the anger her incredible friends were showing.

Even Gary looked furious at Ash, but May quickly stepped over to him and whispered in his ear "He's telling the truth. I saw his Pokemon die, remember?"

Gary's anger instantly faltered, and he looked at May. Slowly nodding, he gave himself a few heartbeats to calm down "Guys?" He said. No one heard him over their own talking and yelling at Ash. Annoyed, Gary tried a little louder "Guys." Still no one heard him, so Gary tried yelling "Guys!"

This got everyone's attention, and they all looked over at him, still panting from their anger.

"Everyone, remember, May was there and saw the whole thing happen."

Ash's eyes widened. He had no idea that May was there and he felt guilty that he had put her in danger.

"What Ash is saying makes sense," May said in a quiet voice "I saw all of his Pokemon die, so he's not lying." She looked at her feet before walking over to Ash's cell and standing in front of it "I believe him."

Everyone looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

"I believe him too." Gary announced "I found May, and she was extremely distraught. She wouldn't be that way if she hadn't of seen Ash, so there's no reason to not believe her, and she agrees with Ash. Plus, Ash has never lied to us, so I'm not about to start doubting him now." Gary joined May by Ash's cell.

Brock looked like he was about to explode before Looker stepped in "Okay, everyone calm down. This is a police station, not a bar. Let's not get caught up in a fight." He turned to Max, Misty, Dawn, Tracey, Paul, Ritchie, Brock, and Barry "For the purposes of the trial, it would be helpful if we could get some statements from you all, as his old friends, saying that he is capable of the crimes that he is being accused of."

Brock grunted and said "Anything you need, Detective. I would be more than willing to oblige if it means getting rid of this traitor."  
The rest of them quickly nodded and voiced their agreement.

"Yeah, anything if it means I never have to see him again!"

"As long as he gets a looong jail sentence!"

"I hope you give him a wickedly huge fine!"

At that moment, Ash Ketchum's heart broke. Sitting there, having already gone through a staggering amount of agony a few days before when his Pokemon were murdered, unable to convince them otherwise, he had no choice but to do nothing as the people who used to be his friends badmouthed him and expressed their desires for him to be severely punished. He even heard some requests for the death penalty. He had never been anything but loyal to his friends and now, in his greatest time of need, they were abandoning him. What was left of his old self after the horrors he underwent with Team Rocket was irreversibly changed. He may not have gone completely off the deep end, but he would never be the same.

His will to live would have broken, if not for the two people standing in front of his cell, both as speechless as he was, and Red, who was frantically pumping Ash full of reassuring thoughts with his psychic abilities. Even if that made little difference in to Ash in his current mindset.

Looker gestured to the doorway "If you could all come this way, I'll take your statements upstairs."

He led the group of Ash's ex friends out of the detention room and into the hallway, out of sight.

No one moved for a full three minutes.

Ash made the first movement, falling to his back on his cot with a blank expression on his face.

May was in shock. She desperately wanted Ash to comfort her, but she knew that he was obviously way more hurt than she was; it's not like her friends just betrayed _her_. However, that didn't stop her from being scared about her friends unwillingness to believe her, Gary, or Ash.

She turned around to face Ash "Ash?"

No response.

"Ash, I know that you must be feeling like the world is against you right now, but it's not." Gary grabbed the bars as he spoke, face determined "You still have May and me, and your partner is clearly worried about you too, so there's no reason to give up. You've gone all this time without any real friends around, right? So you can make it with just us, you've just gotta be strong!"

Ash didn't respond, and Gary feared that he only made it worse.

Red tried his hand "Come on, Ash. We've only know each other for a few weeks, but I feel like it's been forever. We work great together, and our dynamic is strong. Listen to Gary, you've just gotta be strong!"

Still no response. May started to tear up again as she made he try "Ash, I'm sure these last five years have been much harder for you than it has been for us. While we've had the company of friends and family, you've had Team Rocket. While we had the comfort of our homes and familiar places, you've had Team Rocket. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you, but you had to have been strong to get through it for five years, so that's what I'm asking now. Be strong, Ash! I don't know what I'll do with myself if you give up." She shook her head and clenched her fist to her chest as tears fell freely "I love you Ash Ketchum, and you still have friends, no matter what!"

May collapsed to her knees and sat there, crying. Gary made no move to comfort her, however. He knew that the only one who could was his best friend.

Ash still remained motionless. But as May continued to cry, Gary started to tear up too. Not crying, but tears formed.

Ash slowly sat up, but his eyes were no longer the chocolate brown they used to be. They were both black as night.

Gary gasped as he saw Ash's eyes, prompting May to look up and do the same.

"A-Ash," Gary stared "your eyes. They changed color."

"I'm not surprised."

Gary and May both looked to Red.

"If an aura user experiences so much emotional trauma, his eyes will go as soulless black as he feels. The only way to change it is to get his fighting spirit back, which has never been done before. It's widely speculated by aura users to be the outcome, however."

They looked back at Ash who just sat there. They worried that Ash would never recover from this.

However, Ash surprised them "It's fine, you guys. I'm all right. I just need some sleep."

He layed back down and closed his black eyes before exhaustion quickly overcame him and he fell back to sleep.

Gary and May exchanged glances with Red, and they all silently agreed that Ash was lying. He was just trying to be strong for them. It was pretty obvious.

"So what do we do?" Gary asked Red "As much as I hate to say it, you probably know more about Ash than us at this point. You've seen him since he joined Team Rocket."

Red rubbed his chin "Well, you're half right. I know what he's like, but I don't know the full reason as to why. We've never really discussed our pasts together in length."

May wiped her eyes with her sleeves, determined to be strong like Ash "Then do you know how to snap him out of this? Obviously, he'll need some time to recover, but we'll need to pull him though at some point; it's not healthy to stay like this. I know that first hand."

Gary looked at her in surprise. May was usually reluctant to talk about her problems concerning Ash and her depression, but she mentioned it almost nonchalantly.

"First things first, we'll need to break out of here." Red said "There's no chance of him recovering in here. He'll need his Pokemon as well as us to do that. And that can't happen until we're out of here."

"Where are your Pokemon?" Gary asked.

Red hesitated "I know Ash trusts you two, but it's best if I don't tell you that. Looker will have noticed that you two are still in here, and the less you know, the easier it will be for you. Just know that I'll get us out of here, and then contact you two somehow to join us. I assume that's no problem now that, sorry if this seem blunt, you have no other friends?"

That hurt Gary and May, but they didn't comment because they knew it was true. They both nodded in confirmation.

"Anything for Ash." Gary was determined to help his old friend, no matter what.

May had a harder time, seeing as how one of those people was her little brother, but she would just have to see how that went in the future.

"Good." Red drummed his fingers on his cot and looked pensive "Looker didn't bring a key down, so I couldn't get one." He muttered to himself.

"Is there anything we can do for now, or should we just wait?" May asked.

"Just wait. And you should probably go now. Don't want Looker getting suspicious, and this goes without saying: don't tell anyone anything. _Anyone_. Don't tell anyone, and trust no one. It probably won't be long before I have you collected."

"Alright." Gary stood up before helping May to her feet "We'll get going then."

He started to walk, but May stood there, watching Ash's sleeping form.

"Come on, May." Gary held a hand out "We need to go."

May looked at Gary's hand and took it, but before he started walking, she turned to Red "When he wakes up, tell him I said I love him, will you?"

Red simply nodded.

As satisfied as she could be with the situation, May let Gary take her out of the detention room.

Red watched them leave and took one last look at Ash before lying down and letting sleep claim him too.

* * *

 _Crash!_

Ash woke with a start, looking around for the source of the loud noise. Across the room, he could see Red doing the same.

"You have any idea what that was?"

"No." Red gestured towards the door to the hall "But it sounds like it came from over there, and I sense a lot of people."

"So do I."

They both watched the door for a few moments when it suddenly burst open, and about three dozen people poured in.

Surprised, they both had expected something else, not what appeared to be civilians and a few officers.

"What's going on?" Red shouted to the people who had stopped in front of his cell.

"The police station caught fire! We came down here to escape it because the doorway was blocked and at least everything is concrete down here?" One of the officers replied. He and another officer opened the two prisoner's doors with key cards.

"Here, we'll let you out. Even you two don't deserve such a painful death if it comes to it"

Ash and Red sat still, minds racing. If there was a fire, that was great news. This was the perfect time to escape.

The two officers reached the cots where they rested "Let us grab the keys to the cuffs."

Ash and Red sat patiently when the two officers pulled syringes out instead of keys, and plunged them into their skin before they could react.

"What!" Ash bellowed as he released two aura spheres which ripped through the two men.

Red went limp quickly, the paralisant working it's way through his system already.

Ash struggled for a few moments more, but his energy was quickly drained. Just before he passed out, a man walked up to him and unbuttoned his shirt. Underneath was a t-shirt with a large red R on it. If they had any strength left to, Ash's eyes would have widened.

The last thing he remembered before passing out was the rocket man walking up to him and saying, "No one escapes Team Rocket."

* * *

 **A/N- An on time chapter, wow! Don't worry, these should be a lot more common from now on.**

 **See y'all later!**

 **DarkLucario98**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N- This chapter is a little longer than others, about 6.5 thousand words. Thanks to Flamewing98 once again!**

 **"** **Speech" 'Thought' ' _Telepathy'_**

 **Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

 _ ***Bang bang bang***_

The courtroom slowly silenced as the judge pounded his gavel.

The presiding judge's gaze pierced into the crowd and waited a few moments, making sure that he had the full attention of everyone in it "Since Ash Ketchum and Red have escaped their cells, presumably with the aid of Team Rocket, and they are not here to attend this court session, by Article IV of the Soln Act, I declare that this trial will continue. The defendants shall be tried in absentia."

The crowd roared once again, though it was mostly due to various reporters and journalists asking questions than to any anger at the decision to try two men for their lives without their presence so they can defend themselves.

Only two people in the courtroom looked saddened by this decision; a man and a woman sitting next to each other in the front of the room, Gary and May. Their friends were also sitting in the front, but on the opposite side of the room.

The judge slammed his gavel once more "Silence! This is a court proceeding, not an interview, and you will treat it as such! Anyone who causes any trouble will be held for contempt of court!"

The noise died down much faster this time.

"Thank you." The judge turned to the prosecution "Attorney General Hastings, please proceed."

The prosecutor stood up, moved in front of the bench, and turned to the crowd "Everyone here knows what has happened. Two men, originally thought to be driven by greed now known to be Team Rocket operatives, have attacked the Royal Aura Resort. They wanted to steal the Pokemon kept there, and maybe more. As if this was not bad enough, they managed to kill one hundred and forty three of the resort's fine security team along with one hundred and eighty two of their Pokemon." He raised his arms in a questioning manner "One hundred and forty three men? How many is that? If you're curious, that amount is over everyone in this room, and that's not including the Pokemon. This scale of this level of crime has not been seen since the before the founding of the Pokemon League, when the four regions savagely fought over meaningless points and petty disputes. Since then, we have managed to put aside our differences and work together, to bring peace and prosperity to our citizens. Even Orre, with it's population being largely ungoverned, hasn't seen this heinous a crime in a long time." He turned and pointed a finger at the jury, who began to look angry as he spoke "It is up to you, the jury, to find the guilt in this matter. And due to the sheer amount of evidence against them, and the fact that they have run back to Team Rocket with their tails between their legs, Ash Ketchum and Red are without a shadow of a doubt, guilty!"

Hastings stood for a moment as the crowd gave a thunderous applause and wiped the sweat off of his brow. As he went to take his seat, the defense stood. The lawyer who was defending Ash and Red, Mr. Kamon, was a public defender because no lawyer with their own practice would be caught dead near them. They were what is referred to in the practice as career breakers.

He went to where Hasting stood a few moment earlier, sweat dripping down his face. Kamon was no fool; he understood that his chances at winning this case were almost none, but that wasn't what worried him. No, what worried him was that someone would think that he agreed with the criminals and try to teach him a lesson. _He_ knew that he didn't support their actions, he's only a public servant who drew the short straw when he got assigned to work this case and since they were his clients, he had a responsibility to do his best. But not everyone understood that.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this case is about people who are mentally ill and didn't know what they were doing. The prosecution would like you to think that they are simply bad people with nothing but ill intentions, but that is not the case. In the short amount of time they spent in jail, the two were observed to behave erratically, often talking to themselves. This will be shown in the evidence, not that they are cold blooded killers. That is why I plead insanity for my clients."

As Kamon went to sit down, no one clapped. A lot of people glared at him as he moved, but he did his best to ignore them.

The trial began.

…

It proceeded as everyone thought it would. The jury had no time for the defense but was all ears for the prosecution. It was very clear which way they would decide.

The time came for May to give her testimony for the defense. Once she did, she was cross examined by the prosecution

"Miss Maple," Hastings locked his hands behind his back as he gazed at May "you were there on the night of the attack, yes?"

"I was."

"And we've established that you witnessed the accused kill all of the security team, correct?"

"Yes."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that is all we need! We already know, from the sworn statement of the Royal Aura Resort, that there was an attempted robbery with these two as the perpetrators. There can be no excuse for murdering this many people and Pokemon! So I ask you, what more do you need to decide their guilt?" He faced the judge "Your honor, the prosecution is finished with the witness."

"Miss Maple, you may take your seat." The judge said.

May nodded and quickly exited the podium, glad to be out of the center of attention.

As she sat, Gary asked her a question "Why didn't you say that they were fighting Team Rocket?"

"Because it wouldn't help." May sighed "Kamon said that mentioning them would only help solidify the connection between them and Team Rocket. No one actually believes Ash and Red were fighting them except us."

Gary shook his head "Kamon. I know he's trying his best, but it's obvious when you see him face to face that his heart isn't in this. He doesn't really believe in them."

May blew a raspberry "Unfortunately, that's where we are. Until we can meet with them again, the best we can do is just wait and try to ignore everyone else."

Hastings stood once again "Your honor, we have several of Ash Ketchum's old traveling companions here to testify about his capability to commit these crimes."

The judge nodded "You may proceed."

The crowd stirred at that. Old friends of Ash were here, but they were against the criminal? That promised to be interesting to them.

Gary almost choked he snorted so hard "Great, now we have to sit here and watch these traitors spit on Ash's name. Sounds like a blast."

May adopted a look of disgust similar to Gary's and nodded in agreement.

Hastings stood "I would like to call Misty Waterflower to testify."

The judge nodded "Proceed."

From across the room, Misty stood up, and he looked to be in a rough state. Her eyes looked bloodshot and even though you could tell she fixed it up, her hair was still a bit disheveled. Even though she believed that Ash was now a murderer, she had still loved him like a brother and after her anger had worn off, she had broken down.

Misty went to the bench and sat in the witness booth, her eyes alight with anger once again.

"Miss Waterflower," Hastings started "how long have you known the defendant?"

"Eleven years."

"How long have you noticed any odd behavior in him?"

"When we started traveling together initially, he was nothing out of the ordinary. A little stronger than the average starting trainer, but that's it. We traveled through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto before I left to take care of my gym. After that, he traveled with other people, but I still saw him on occasion. The first time I noticed any real odd behavior was after he returned from Hoenn. I visited him at Professor Oak's lab, and he was in the field with his Pokemon. I sneaked out to hi, to surprise him, and I caught him talking to the a trio of Team Rocket members. After a few minutes of talking, the trio got up and left him, without so much as a fight."

May scoffed. Jessie and Jame might have been criminals, but it's not like Ash would just attack them on sight. He always waited to be provoked, and if they were civil, he responded in kind. A glance at Gary told her that he was thinking the same thing.

"So you're saying that it's possible that Mr. Ketchum has been in collusion with Team Rocket for many years now?"

"Yes, I'm saying that' a possibility."

"Your honor, the prosecution is finished with this witness."

The judge looked to Kamon "The defense may cross examine the witness."

Kamon stood "Your honor, the defense has no questions for this witness."

Some eyebrows raised at that; it was very rare for a witness to not be questioned by both sides.

The judge's eyes widened in surprise too "Very well. Miss Waterflower, you may step down from the bench."

Misty nodded before getting up to return to her seat "Thank you, Your Honor."

Hastings said while Misty was still walking to her seat "Your Honor, we would now like to call Richie Hiroshi to the stand."

The judge nodded.

Richie stood and made his way to where Misty just sat, passing her along the way and muttering something into her ear before going to take his seat.

Mr. Hastings raised an eyebrow inquisitively "Mr. Hiroshi, you never traveled with Mr. Ketchum, did you?"

Richie shook his head "No, I didn't."

"But you did know him, did you not?"

"It is."

"Would you please explain to the jury why you think Ash Ketchum has the capability to commit these rimes?"

"Like Mr. Hastings said, we met at our first Pokemon League, the Indigo Plateau." Richie rubbed his hands together "And we became friends very quickly. One day during the League, the Team Rocket trio stole a whole bunch of trainer's pokeballs, and we went to get them back, but ended up getting kidnapped and thrown in the back of their getaway van. We managed to break out and I took the pokeballs while Ash went after Team Rocket. I didn't see what happened because we split up, but when Ash came back a few minutes later, he was eyeing the pokeballs. When I asked what was wrong, he told me that he was just worried about the Pokemon. I thought that was strange, and since I never saw team Rocket get blasted away like he usually did to them, I was a little suspicious. But since he didn't try anything, I forgot about it, and haven't thought of it since he attacked the Royal Aura Resort."

May looked confused, but Gary shook his head "I remember that. Ash told me about that when we crossed paths after the Johto League. He didn't blast them off because they went careening away in their destroyed van, and he _was_ worried about the Pokemon in the balls. That's no evidence against him, but it'll work anyway. Everyone's already made up their mind about the outcome; this trial is nothing more than a sentencing."

"So much for a fair trial then, huh?" May looked at her hands, saddened by the fact that her love wouldn't even get a fair trial.

"Nope. This is a sham of justice."

"Mr. Kamon," the judge looked at him "would the defense like to question the witness?"

"No Your Honor, the defense has no questions."

That got a quiet uproar. Two witnesses with no questions? It appeared as though Kamon had given up after all.

The judge, however, seemed unsurprised this time. It seems that he had figured out what Kamon was doing, and he looked displeased with it, dismissing Richie before speaking again "Does the prosecution have any more witnesses?"

Hastings nodded "Yes Your Honor, we have one final witness. We would like to call Brock Harrison to the stand."

"Proceed."

Brock, like Misty and Richie before him, went to take his place next to the bench before being questioned.

"Mr. Harrison, how long have you known the defendant?"

Brock was the maddest of all of Ash's old friends, and that anger was slightly visible in his voice "I met him eleven years ago, a few days before Misty did."

"How long did you travel with him?"

"Five years."

"Five years is a lot of time, is it not?" Hastings asked rhetorically "Half of a decade. You must have gotten to know Mr. Ketchum very well in those years, yes? And seen what he is capable of, no doubt."

Kamon's instincts told him to object, not on the terms that it was necessarily an unfair question, but it was a leading one, which was not allowed. However, he held his tongue and remained silent.

"Why didn't he say anything?" May demanded angrily "That question is basically telling Brock to say that Ash is bad, why didn't Kamon object?"

Gary looked thoughtfully at Kamon for a moment before answering "I think I know what he's up to."

May turned her gaze to him "What?"

"I think he's deliberately not doing much, but not to hurt Ash and Red." Gary told the brunette.

"How does that make sense?" May asked, the sound of Brock being questioned by Hastings in the background "Not saying anything is amount to agreeing!"

"No, trust me May." Gary said "As a professor, I've had to come to a few trials myself, and I've gone to many with Gramps. Just wait. And see, Kamon knows what he's doing. His plan isn't going to work, but it's the only hope against a biased jury."

May grunted in response, not completely satisfied with his answer, but accepting it for now.

"And so that is one of the many reckless thing that Ash has done that placed people in jeopardy?" Hastings asked Brock.

"Yes, he jumped out at the giant Pokemon machine of a Charizard too, and that almost got us fried."

"So in conclusion, Mr. Harrison, you would say that Ash Ketchum is not only capable of these crimes, but has repeatedly place even his closest friends in unnecessary danger?"

"I think that Ash is not only capable, but willing." Brock stated "None of his antics really bothered me at the time, but now, it all seems suspicious. Especially his common encounters with Team Rocket. A Pikachu? Even though his Pikachu _is_ far above the normal strength of a regular one, it's not like it's the most powerful Pokemon in existence, not even close. They must have had a different reason to follow him, like be there if he needed backup, for example. They must have been the ones who 'kidnapped' Ash after the Sinnoh League, probably because they needed him back with them to steal or kill in some other region. Looking back, I think that Ash Ketchum is a criminal and scum, and I agree with the charges, and think that he needs to be found and brought to justice, whatever means necessary!"

Hastings indulged himself with a confidant smirk, pleased with how the trial was progressing "Your Honor, we have no further questions."

"Does the defense have any questions?"

Kamon shook his head once again "No Your Honor."

"Real surprise." The judge muttered under his breath "Seeing as how both sides are through presenting their evidence, the jury shall now go and make a decision."

…

A short hour later, the jury had reached a decision.

"How does the jury find the defendants?"

One of the jurors stood up and faced the judge "We the jury find the defendants to be guilty on all accounts, Your Honor."

As he sat, applause broke out once again, but the judge allowed it this time, letting it die down naturally before speaking "Then, for the crimes of attempted robbery, the affiliation with the crime syndicate Team Rocket, and mass murder of both humans and Pokemon I hereby sentence Ash Ketchum and Red to death by lethal injection. Once they are found, they will be executed as soon as they can be transported to the necessary facilities. This court is adjourned."

 _ ***Bang bang bang***_

As the exits crowded with people attempting to leave, May and Gary stood and waited for the crowd to abate. They stood there as the noise died down, the happy chattering of pleased onlookers slowly quieted.

"What did you think Kamon's plan was?" May asked Gary.

Gary looked frustrated "Since it was clear that the judge and jury were biased against Ash and Red, Kamon tried to look as incapable as possible to try and get this case dismissed on account of an incapable attorney. It was their only hope, but it looks like it didn't work. The judge clearly didn't like it, which is understandable. It's kind of a dirty trick."

"Makes sense." May thought for a moment before changing the subject "So what do we do now?"

Gary ran a hand through his hair "Actually, I think that this situation is more suited to you."

May looked surprised "What makes you say that?"

"The fact that, after Ash disappeared for the first time, you became very adept at avoiding people and finding quiet places to lie low. I don't really feel like seeing everyone after the things they said about Ash. Brock especially." Gary had held a small grudge against Brock for their brawl a short time ago, but after last night when they saw Ash and him testifying against him, it didn't remain so small.

May shifted uncomfortably as she realized that Gary was right, but her mind instinctively gave her an answer.

"Um, how about we go to a theater and catch a movie, then find a bar to hang out in while we think about what to do from there. The movie will kill some time until things clear up around here and the bars are usually crowded at this point, so it will be harder to find us."

"Sounds good." Gary said, the light from the setting sun hitting him in the eyes and he held a hand up to block it "Let's go. It's starting to get late."

…

"Ugh, my head." Ash said irritably. "I've said that way too much lately."

As his head cleared, he looked to his surroundings. He was in another sort of cell, except this one was nowhere near as nice as his last, and that was saying something. It was barely big enough to fit his bed in, and bed is a loose term. It was really just a hard wooden board held to the wall by chains, and not at all comfortable. The room that the cell was in was very dark, making it hard to see, but Ash could sense Red in a cell next to his.

He looked at his ankles, which were still bound by the plasma cuffs.

"I'm getting really sick of these dumb cuffs." Ash grunted in frustration before blowing a raspberry "Red, are you awake?"

"Of course." Came his response "They gave you way more drugs than me. I'm insulted that they think that much more of you than me."

"I swear," Ash growled "Once we get out of here, I'm gonna kill everyone around here! I'm sick of being dragged from one prison to the next, unconscious!"

"Yep. Except there's no way I'm calling Mewtwo in here. That's probably what Team Rocket wants, and far be it from me to give them what they want."

Ash nodded "Yeah, if they got their hands on him, it would be terrible for the whole world."

Ash heard a grunt of acknowledgment from Red "Yep. So all we can do now is sit and wait."

…

Giovanni sat in his chair a his desk, stroking Persian's fur.

The glow of his computer in his face as he looked over details of his plan, making sure everything was in order, a maniacal grin on his face.

He gave a short bark of laughter before using his intercom to contact his secretary "Alison, get Domino in here now!"

"Yes sir!" was Alison's response, which held a note of fear, something it didn't use to have.

She, like most others in Team Rocket, had noticed Giovanni slowly going deeper and deeper into the crime world as his plans got bigger and more radical. He was once a fair man as Team Rocket began its journey as a criminal organization. He had begun to change rather abruptly a few years ago, and he had remained somewhat fair, but with a cruel streak. This wasn't anything to be even slightly curious about, as he was a crime lord and so it was unsurprising, but lately he had become almost... erratic. This obsession with Ketchum was only the tip of an iceberg that has been long in forming.

Giovanni continued to pet Persian as he waited, the lights in his office turned off. He had a problem he wanted to discuss with the double oh. Unfortunately for Domino, that problem was her. Giovanni's grin slipped off of his face as anger crashed into him. She had become weak in her time with Ash, something that was either about to be fixed or dealt with.

Domino opened the door and hesitantly walked in and Giovanni immediately put on a neutral expression. She looked nervous as she approached Giovanni, stopping in front of his desk with a salute.

"Yes sir!"

"Hello Domino." Giovanni kept a straight face, hiding the irritation he felt at her underneath his cool facade "How have you been?"

Domino looked surprised; Giovanni never bothered with small talk "Um, fine sir. Our last job went off without a hitch, and no one was hurt either."

"No one, you say? Is that no one in Team Rocket, or no one at all?"

"No one at all, sir. It was quite a hassle too. The trainers put up a small show of resistance, but I was able to talk them out of it before I had to do anything drastic."

"If it was such a hassle, then why didn't you just deal with them!" Giovanni slammed a fist onto his desk, sending a few sheets of paper onto the floor "You've gone soft, Domino, and that is something I do not need in a double oh."

Domino took a step back in fear. She had noticed the decline in Giovanni's sanity too, but Ash had usually kept her out of his sights; he never intentionally hurt Ash any more than necessary, because he wanted him fresh for when he needed him. Giovanni had gone through too much to get him to allow his frustrations to hurt him. Ash was and still is the most important part of his master plan. Unfortunately, now that Ash was no longer around to protect her from Giovanni's rage, she had no safety net to fall back on this time.

She didn't regret it though. Ash had changed her, and the only reason she stuck around, well, Ash knew her reason, and that was enough.

However, Giovanni looked much angrier than usual.

"Well sir, I don't think we need to harm the victims any more than than we need too. After all, why give the police any more reason to come after us? They still think we're too small for anything more than petty theft and the occasional small robbery, so why take the chance?" She maintained eye contact with the Team Rocket leader, finding it difficult to match his angry glare. She had prepared this response ahead of time, and it was a logical argument that a rational and logical man would understand. Too bad he was no longer rational.

"No Domino, you should have dealt with them!" His face was starting to redden "If we leave challenges like that improperly answered, then we will be seen as weak by the few left who know our strength!" Giovanni stood quickly up, prompting Domino to take another step back. It seemed like he was about to shout again, but red flashed briefly through his eyes and he appeared to calm down before taking his seat again.

Domino took a deep breath to help herself calm down "I'm sorry sir, but I disagree. I didn't see any reason to hurt them. They were already victims."

The Rocket boss smirked, an expression that Persian mimicked "I'm almost glad that you think that way, double oh nine. You see, when Ketchum and Red went rogue and made the mistake of attacking us, we were forced to kill off all of his Pokemon."

Domino didn't give any outward reaction, but her mind was reeling from that information. She didn't want to give him any more reason to be angry. What she didn't know was that he no longer needed one.

"Because of this, I thought that we no longer had anything to set him off in the controlled setting that we need." His smirk turned to a sinister smile "At least, until I remembered you."

The Rocket elite's eyes widened in horror, but she didn't dare make any move; she didn't trust her body at the moment.

"You see, Domino," Giovanni looked at her, madness dancing in his eyes "it is very likely that you are the person who is the closest to Ash. He may now partner with Red, but you have been by his side for the last two years. You trained him, helped him stay alive, and you were a friend to him. Even if you weren't supposed to actually become his friend. You forgot your purpose and why you are here."

Giovanni's hand hovered under his desk, out of Domino's sight "That is why, in place of his Pokemon, we will use you to trigger a reaction like the one we saw at the Resort."

In a flash, Domino was racing towards the door, but Giovanni knew it was coming. His hand pressed a button under his desk and before she could open the door to escape, two men with very imposing physiques opened it and stepped in her path. Undeterred by them, Domino shot her foot at the first man's knee, intent on crippling it. It was a lightning fast strike, as she knew something like this would happen if she ran, but with reactions that seemed almost inhuman, he bent his leg just enough to let her foot brush beside it and kicked his leg up to trip her. Surprised, she was caught off guard and fell to the ground, but the second man was there in a flash and caught her before she fell holding the double oh in a tight grasp. She readied herself to resist, but stopped dead when she saw the red ball of energy form in the first man's hand.

Giovanni stood from his desk and almost prowled over to her, laughing like a maniac "Tsk tsk, Domino. You don't want to provoke these two. They're very quick to anger Now behave, and you should be kept comfortable. Until, of course," he paused, relishing in the moment and the terror he saw on his ex-second in command's face "until we, _use,_ you to enrage Ketchum."

The two guards hauled Domino away, while Giovanni continued his laugh, a sound that put any cartoon character's to shame.

…

"Red, I'm not playing I Spy again." Ash sighed "Beside, it's too dark to see anything. There's no point in that."

"Aw come on." Red whined "I'm bored. We've been in here for three days now, and no one comes to visit us. I need something to do."

"Well it won't be I Spy."

"Come on, you know you want to."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

No, I don't!"

"You know you do."

Ash was ready to make a rather rude remark to his jail buddy, but the door to the room suddenly opened, and two large men walked in. One of them went to Red's cell and the other to Ash's. They opened them and undid the wire on the cuffs to the wall. Both Ash and Red could sense the aura in them, so they weren't especially eager to capitalize the chance to escape, not while they were both still cuffed.

"Come with us," one of them said "the boss wants to see you."

"About time." Red snorted "We've been getting kind of bored. And lonely."

The guard jabbed him on the side of his skull "A funny man, huh? Why don't you just get moving?"

"Fine, fine. No need to get pushy."

They led Ash and Red through the Rocket base, stopping in front of a large set of doors. One of them went to the side and put his hand on a scanner. A light shone from it and a confirmation bleeped as a clicking sound emanated from the door. They pushed it open before pushing Ash and Red in ahead of them.

The room was huge. It was the size of an airline hangar, with thick cables running everywhere. At the end laid a giant circular stone structure of some sort on a small pedestal. It looked old and had strange markings on it. In front of it were two constraint devices that were facing the stone, and they looked very capable. Beside the stone was a metal table about the size of a human that had restraining straps for the arms and legs. A smaller door was beside the table.

The two men herded Ash and Red over to the two constraint devices, and put them in it. They bent over and hooked the cuffs' cables to the device and powered it on. Immediately, the devices sprang to life, enclosing the two of them from the torso down, so that the only part of them that could be seen was the upper torso and above. Ash wasn't sure, but he could've sworn that he felt something dig slightly into his skin in multiple places.

The two guard then took positions behind the two of them, crossing their arms a they waited.

The large doors opened once again, though Ash and Red couldn't turn to see who came in.

Once the newcomer came into view, their eyes narrowed at him.

"Giovanni." Ash spat "What do you want with us? Why don't you just get it over with and kill us like you did my Pokemon!"

Giovanni smirked at him "Ash, my boy, why would I do that? Especially after all of the trouble I went to get you two back."

He stepped up on the pedestal and looked down at the two captive "I would hazard to guess that you're very curious about why I had Red kidnap you those years ago. Well, it's very simple really. You have a blue aura, something I haven't been able to find anywhere else."

Ash looked unsurprised "I figured as much. It's not like I was the best trainer around, so there was no other reason for you to want me."

"Haha!" Giovanni boomed "But you don't know why I want your blue aura, do you? I have these red aura users, so why would I need your aura, which was untrained when I had you kidnapped."

He closed his eyes "The answer is quite simple. I assume you've heard the tale of Abigar the Bloody and his attack on the regions?"

Ash nodded "Red told me about it."

"Then you know how he was locked in the Reverse World by Sir Aaron?"

"Yes." Ash thought he saw where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"Well, as the story goes, in order to free Abigar from his imprisonment, you need the aura of a red aura user with his powers unlocked and the blue aura of the user who unlocked them. I was going to have you unlock one of my red aura users powers, but since you went and did that already, I don't have to worry about it."

Red glared at Giovanni "What makes you think we're willing to help you with this, because I assure you that we're not."

Ash nodded in agreement and spat at Giovanni's, but he could only hit his feet.

"well," Giovanni rubbed his hands together "the red aura is pretty easy to get and I don't need much."

The guard standing behind Red charged his fist with aura and smashed it into the exposed part of his back. Red growled in pain and his constraint started to glow a soft red as he unconsciously radiated aura.

"Red aura users instinctively use it when their bodies tell them that they are in danger." Giovanni pointed to Ash "You, however, will not. Because of your stronger aura, you blue aura users have more control over what you unconsciously emit. Except in one case. I'm sure you remember what happened a few nights ago?"

Ash gritted his teeth in anger, but said nothing, unwilling to show anything give Giovanni the satisfaction of seeing him angry.

"You lost control and emitted a significant amount of aura, enough to open this portal," He pointed to the stone structure "and release Abigar back into this world."

"Good luck with that." Ash snorted "If you hadn't noticed, you already killed all of my Pokemon."

Giovanni waved his hand and the door next to the table opened "Oh, don't worry. I have something just as good."

Another guard walked in, followed by two form. One was another guard basically dragging the third person in.

"Domino!" Ash exclaimed.

"Ash!" Domino yelled as the guards threw her onto the table and started to strap her in "Don't worry about me, just don't give him what he wants!"

Ash and Red watched as they finished strapping her down and made sure she couldn't escape. Once finished, one of the guards aura charged a fist and slammed it into her gut. She sputtered in pain and held in a scream. Ash felt anger swell inside him as he did his best to not give out any aura, closing his eyes in concentration and to avoid what was going to happen in front of him.

Giovanni reached under the table and pulled out a sharp looking knife. Domino's heartbeat quickened when she saw it.

Giovanni traced it along her arm slowly "You could stop this now, Ash. Just give us your aura, and she won't have to get hurt."

The guard threw another punch, this time into her rib cage, and she grunted with pain again, eyes still fixed on the knife.

Ash took a deep breath "Never."

Giovanni shrugged "Fine, don't say I didn't give you a chance."

He stabbed the knife into her bicep as the guard produced his own knife and ran it into through her hand. Domino screamed in pain and thrashed in response, but that only deepened the cuts.

Ash's breathing sped up as he continued to try and control his anger.

"Ash, don't do it." Red tried to encourage his partner "Don't give them what they want. It will make Domino's suffering be in vain."

Ash nodded but jerked as Domino's screams intensified as she was continually cut. They were very careful about the cuts they made in her, to not slice an artery or major blood vessel so that she would bleed out and prematurely end the torture.

The guard charged his fist once again and crashed it into her nose, breaking it with a sickening crunch as Giovanni moved on to her abdomen with his knife.

Domino continued to scream.

Ash was shaking now, his self control almost at the tipping point, but he gave off no aura. Though he wasn't sure how much longer he could go.

"Hahahaha!" Giovanni roared with laughter as he continued to cut her. After a few more cuts, he started to punch her in various areas, causing big bruises to form immediately. The guard was keeping pace with him, except his punches were charged with aura and he broke a couple bones in her leg.

Domino could no longer take it and passed out from the shock and pain.

"Ash..." She muttered before blacking out.

Something in Ash snapped as he heard her screaming stop; it was somehow worse than when she screamed. Her stopping meant that she was at her limit, and couldn't take anymore.

"Ash, don't do it!" Red yelled, trying in vain to stop him.

But Ash was no longer in control, his rage taking control of him for a second time.

"GIOVANNI!"

He tried to throw aura ball after aura ball at the man, but his arms were still covered and it was all absorbed by his constraints; the wires attached to his skin were siphoning the aura.

"Yes, YES!" Giovanni bellowed "Set Abigar free!"

Ash screamed in fury, and the markings on the portal began to glow.

"Ash, stop! Look at the portal! It's beginning to open!" Red desperately tried to get him to stop.

Ash didn't listen and continued to try and throw his aura, which continued to go straight to the portal, which glowed brighter.

Suddenly, the portal shone a brilliant blue as Ash fed it, and it turned almost mirror like. But Giovanni knew that it wasn't a mirror, but a bridge to the Reverse World.

"YES!"

Ash slumped over, unconscious; the portal took over for him and drained the rest of the aura it needed from him.

After he passed out, a booming laugh echoed from the other side. Five figures could be seen through the portal, and they were fighting a giant Pokemon.

"Goodbye Giratina!" One of them shouted "You shan't keep us any longer!"

One of the figures threw a red aura ball at the Renegade Pokemon, causing an explosion which allowed the five figures to jump through the portal. Once they were all out, Giratina's roar shook the room before one of them threw an aura ball at the stone structure, causing it to collapse, shutting the portal and stopping it from draining Ash. The shock wave from the portal sent everyone but one sprawling on the ground.

It was silent for a few moments.

The sole person standing laughed "I never thought that this world would ever see my might again! This time, I will kill every aura guardian I see, I will burn the land they occupy and salt the ground, I swear I will wipe them from existence!"

* * *

 **A/N- There we go, next chapter on time. Thanks for reading!**

 **See y'all later!**

 **DarkLucario98**


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